Chuck vs the Witch
by Costas TT
Summary: Totally AU. A young witch having to run for her life from the Inquisition finds herself in modern day Los Angeles. There she will run into a certain lanky curly haired Nerd. A variety of funny situations with parallels to a bygone era will ensue, and of course romance, all spiced up by generous use of magical powers. Many familiar characters will be making appearances in this fic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Well, this plot line got the most votes in the mini-poll started with the author's note in the last chapter of my previous story. It would have been posted earlier, but for some annoying (and in the end expensive) computer problems. At least they are behind me now and the first chapter is up.

This is not going to be a very long story and I promise to update at least once a week. Like always, the entire range of standard disclaimers applies to the entirety of this story. Also, many thanks to Coreymon77 for proof reading this chapter for me.

Well, enjoy!

* * *

**Chuck vs the Witch**

Sometime in the not so distant future…

Fourteen year old Clara Woodcomb roundly cursed her bad luck. Of all days it had to happen today! The worst thing was that her uncle Chuck was not in town to help her. But his kids were and they were just as big Nerds.

"What the hell, maybe they can help," Clara muttered to herself. Picking up her laptop, she made tracks for the house across the street where her younger cousins lived.

"Who is it?" The voice answering the knock on the door belonged to a girl.

"Cuz, it's me!" Clara yelled. "I need your help!"

"Hey cuz," twelve year old Samantha Bartowski said, yanking the door open. "What's up?"

"This is up," the brunette replied, holding up the laptop. "It froze and won't restart."

"And you want me to take a look at it."

"Well, since your Dad isn't here…"

"Come on in. I'll go get Dad's tools." She disappeared into her father's Nerd Cave… and came back out again. "They're not in here. My brother must have taken them for some reason. Sit tight, I'll find him and tell him to get his butt down here and give us a hand."

"Thanks Sam."

"Jason! Where are you, bro?" Sam yelled, bounding up the stairs.

"Can't you be any louder, sis?" Jason Bartowski, Samantha's older by six minutes brother, replied.

"Get your butt downstairs. Clara has a computer problem and needs the Bartowski Nerd Herd."

"Gimme a few minutes and I'll be right down. I need to finish installing the supplementary cooling system for the Monster's graphics processors." The Monster was the computer system they had built with their father.

"Okie-dokie." However, the minutes passed and there was no sign of Jason. His sister found her patience running out. "Jason!" There was no reply. "Jason, I want you and Dad's tools here, NOW!" Sam snapped her fingers at the last word. And then something happened. Her brother and the tool case suddenly materialized in front of the two girls. Both Clara and Sam screamed. Jason looked shocked.

"How on earth did you do that, sis?"

"I… I don't know," Sam stammered. "I said I wanted you here and then you appeared… out of thin air."

"My sister has mastered teleportation," Jason muttered.

"Yeah? With what? My crazy wiccan powers?" Sam retorted.

"Cuz, I hate to state the obvious, but the moment you wished for your brother to come, he appeared," Clara stated. Like her cousins, she was a little freaked out. "It was… magic."

"We should set up a stake in the back yard and burn Sam at it," Jason piped up. "What do you think, cuz? Should we burn the witch?"

"Are you guys sure it wasn't some weird disruption of the time-space continuum?" Clara asked. "At least that's what I'd expect you two to say. Uncle Chuck would."

"Well, there is only one thing we can do to make sure it wasn't a fluke," Jason said, after thinking it over.

"Tell us, bro," Sam encouraged.

"Try to do something like that again," he said. "Say, move the Indian Chief from his corner to another."

Nodding, Sam turned to the tobacco store Indian they had in the living room. "Nothing," she said.

"Just before Jason appeared, you snapped your fingers, Sam," Clara piped up. "Maybe you should do it again."

"Hmmm… you're right, Clara." Sam refocused her attention on the wooden statue and where she wanted it to go and snapped her fingers. It instantly went exactly where she wanted it to.

"Wow," her brother and her cousin exclaimed in unison.

"My sister is a witch," Jason added, running a hand through the mop of unruly chocolate curls on top of his head.

"Pinch me," his blue eyed blond sister said. "I must be dreaming." Her brother was only too happy to oblige. "OUCH!"

"Look on the bright side, sis. You won't have any trouble cooking dinner before Mom and Dad come home."

"Hey, you're right. But we forgot all about Clara's computer."

"Bah, use your witchy powers to fix it."

"Oh." Sam followed Jason's suggestion and again snapped her fingers towards the laptop. "Try it now, Cuz."

Shaking her head, Clara opened the laptop and pressed the power button. "It works! Thanks! You saved my life. I really needed some of the files I have in there."

"Sam and I were talking about having a movie marathon, maybe make some hotdogs, pizza and popcorn. Are you in?"

"Depends on the movies," Clara replied.

"The Bone of Contention followed by Naked Heat," the twins informed their cousin in unison.

"Classic mystery movies. Cool, I'm in."

"I'll set up the player," Jason offered.

"And I'll work my magic on the snacks and drinks," Sam added.

"You read my mind, sis. Don't forget dinner for Mom and Dad."

"They'll find a nice romantic candlelit dinner served when they get here," she assured him.

Sam rejoined her brother and her cousin in the living room carrying a large tray with cans of soda, bags of popcorn, plus pizzas and hotdogs – still as she'd taken them out of the freezer. She arranged the stuff on the coffee table and with a snap of her fingers everything was ready to eat.

"I could get used to this," Jason said approvingly.

The three kids were in the middle of watching Bone of Contention when the sound of a key in the lock reached their ears. Sam smiled and snapped her fingers. The table was instantly set with a nice dinner for her and Jason's parents. Jason paused the movie and all three went to greet the couple. The scene made it glaringly obvious that Jason had taken after his father, while Sam was the spitting image of her Mom.

"Come here you two!" Chuck Bartowski said.

"Hi Dad! How was your trip to jolly old England?"

"It was fine, son. Hartley and Vivian send you their regards," he said. "And these," he added, giving his kids some gift-wrapped boxes. "And he didn't forget you either, Clara." He gave his niece her present as well.

"Thank you Uncle Chuck."

"Hey, what is my Indian Chief doing over there? Jason McLane Bartowski, was it your doing?"

"Um… I may have instigated it."

"Should I believe him, Sarah?" Chuck asked his wife.

"I don't know… Samantha Nikki Bartowski, what do you have to say?"

"I might have helped move the Chief, Mom," Sam admitted.

"But Mom, it was my idea," Jason insisted. He was always protective of Sam. Their age difference was only six minutes, but he still considered himself to be the big brother. Their parents smiled, as did Clara.

"And there is something else," Sam continued. "But you'd better see for yourself, Mom." With a snap of her fingers the Chief went back to his proper place.

"I'll be damned," Chuck said. "One of them really inherited your powers, Sarah."

"Mom's a witch?" Jason and Sam exclaimed, looking wide eyed at their mother.

"We had no idea, Auntie Sarah," Clara said. "But I think it's cool. Why didn't you tell anyone for so long?"

"Your parents and grandparents know, Clara. But Chuck and I decided to leave off telling you and your cousins until you were old enough. However, I forgot one thing: My own powers first appeared when I was Sam's age, too."

"Are you really a witch, Aunt Sarah?"

Sarah smiled and with a wave of her hand a can of soda took off from the table and hovered in front of her niece. "Yes I am."

"Wow, you really are."

"I inherited my powers from a great aunt on my Dad's side of the family."

"Is Auntie Carina a witch, too?"

"No, neither she nor my Mom has magical powers."

"Enough talking," Sam admonished. "Dinner's getting cold. Mom, Dad, sit down and enjoy it. I cooked."

"Did you cook, or did you…?"

"I cooked using my newfound powers," she admitted with a smile.

"By the way, what were you three doing in the living room?"

"Oh, we were just enjoying some junk food and having a classic mystery movie mini marathon."

"Which movies?" Chuck asked his son.

"Bone of Contention and Naked Heat."

"I'm not entirely sure that these are appropriate for kids your age," Sarah remarked.

"Come on, Mom. They're just movies!" Jason protested.

"And you know we love the books," Sam added.

"That may be, but I see you're watching the unrated version… not even the PG-13 one…"

"Dad, all the blood and gore is faked," Sam protested in mock exasperation. Her brother and cousin were both nodding in total agreement. "It's a movie. It's realistic, but definitely not real."

"They are wise beyond their years," Chuck relented and hoped that his wife would do the same.

"Fine," she said. "I'm too tired to argue."

"Then let's have dinner and I'll give you a special massage afterwards."

"Ew," Sam grimaced. "Dad, there are minors in the room, too."

"She's right, Dad. TMI," Jason agreed.

As if on cue, Rex, the family dog, bounded down the stairs carrying Sarah's fluffy bunny slippers in his mouth. He set them down in front of her and wagged his tail.

"Thanks Rex," she said, kicked off her high heels and gratefully slipped her feet into the luxuriously soft slippers. Then she turned to her children. "Was Rex in our room?"

Two sets of hitching shoulders answered her. "We don't know, Mom," Jason said. "I was working on the Monster…"

"And I was in my room reading, before Clara came and asked us to fix her computer," Sam added.

"If Rex made a mess in our room, he'll spend a week in the doghouse," Sarah decreed. She caught the shift of her daughter's eyes. "I know what you're thinking, young lady. Bear in mind that I can reverse everything you do, so I'll find out no matter what."

"Can you really do that, Sarah?" Chuck asked her as they went up to their room.

"Yes, it's all in my book," she replied.

"Oh yes. I haven't seen you take it out in quite a while."

"It's not that I need it," she said. "After all, I have you whenever I want some magic in my life."

"I love you, Mrs. Bartowski."

"I love you too, Mr. Bartowski."

"The kids will be curious to learn about you and the whole witchy powers thing, you know, Sarah… especially since Sam is also a witch now."

"Let's change and head back downstairs for dinner. I'll promise to tell them everything soon."

"Works for me," Chuck shrugged and turned to change out of his rumpled suit into something more comfortable.

"At least we got an answer to your question, Chuck."

"What question?"

"The one you asked me years ago, when we first found out that I was pregnant on Jason and Sam."

"Oh, you mean about whether they might inherit your powers or not?"

"Uh-huh. If you'll recall, I was just as curious as you were."

"We'll need to sit down and have a talk with Sam regarding the use of her powers, Sarah. Your book can help, too."

"I know. Who would imagine that parenting involves giving our daughter advice on the proper use of witchcraft?"

They both laughed and headed downstairs for dinner. They found their kids and Clara trying to see if Jason also had magical powers. So far it appeared that he was just a normal twelve year old boy.

"You're wasting your time, you know," Sarah told them.

"But Mom, my powers just appeared out of thin air," Sam said. "Maybe Jason's are still dormant."

"Jason has no powers. Trust me. I'm a witch, so I know how to identify other witches and wizards. Right now I'm only picking up a vibe from you, Sam."

"Were you always picking up this vibe, Mom?"

"No, sweetie, I wasn't. Like I said before, powers manifest themselves for the first time around the age of twelve and they are detectable after said first manifestation. Before that, anyone possessing them is a perfectly normal child."

"It makes sense, in a way," Sam agreed. "But if Jason has any powers, they too will be detectable after he uses them for the first time."

"Sam's got a point, Sarah," Chuck agreed.

"Since he tried and failed, I think he's magic free," Clara pointed out.

Clara's parents chose that moment to look for their daughter in the Bartowski residence. Since they hadn't found her at home, they reasoned that she must have gone to her cousins'.

"Ellie, Devon, come in," Chuck greeted his sister and his brother-in-law.

"I see the gang is all here," Ellie said, seeing the kids gathered together.

"Yes and things got rather… complicated," Sarah said with a smile.

"Define complicated," Devon prompted.

"Well, Sam got a lot more from Sarah than just her looks," Chuck supplied.

"No kidding," Ellie exclaimed. "You mean she's a witch, too?" She looked at the little girl, who was standing there with a big smile on her angelic face.

Instead of replying, Sam snapped her fingers and a beautiful bouquet of flowers appeared in her aunt's hands.

"Impressive," Devon commented. Ellie just hugged her niece. She was used to Sarah's occasional use of witchcraft, so she wasn't at all bewildered by it. "I'll have to put them in a vase."

"Let me take care of it for you, Aunt Ellie." The flowers disappeared. "When you go home, you'll find them in a nice vase," Sam said smugly.

"All that is nice, but you, your mother and I will have to sit down and have a nice little talk about when and how you should use your powers," Chuck told his daughter.

"Dad, I'm not a little kid any more."

"You're still a kid. And as your parents, it's our duty to do as your father said," Sarah replied.

"I'm well aware of that. But I still think it's somewhat annoying. After all, you're the ones always saying how mature Jason and I act all the time."

"OK. Come on, Clara. We got you your favorite Chinese on the way back from the hospital," Ellie said.

"Yummy! Did you get me dessert?"

"Damn!" Devon exclaimed. "I knew we'd forgotten something."

"I think can give you some of my chocolate soufflé. And before you ask, no, I won't make it appear by magic. I made it before I went to pick up Chuck at the airport. You know how much he likes it," Sarah said. "You'll only have to bake it." She went into the kitchen and returned with a large ramekin, which she handed over to Ellie.

"Thanks Sarah. By the way, I'm planning a ladies' night for next week. Are you in?"

"Like you have to ask. I'm in."

-o-

A couple of days later, in the evening, the Bartowski family was gathered in the living room. Jason had claimed the recliner. Chuck and Sarah were in the love seat, while Sam sat in the big beanbag. Rex was curled up next to her, while Sarah's cat Lucy was fast asleep on the rug.

"Like we promised, tonight we are going to tell you everything about me and how I ended up here in LA," Sarah began.

"I'll let you do most of the talking, honey," Chuck promised.

"There's a lot you can say, you know."

"Yes, I know, but it's better to hear the story of how you came here from the source, namely you."

"OK. Now, Sam, Jason, pay attention. Some things, especially in the beginning of my story, might seem awfully weird to you. There is an explanation for everything though. You may recall me mentioning a book and in fact Sam asked me about it yesterday. She correctly guessed it's a book of magic spells and I have it right here with me, as it will help with her, um, situation, too. I'll go get it from the study later. For your information, something I found in this very book helped cure your father of his allergy to cats."

"Dad was allergic to cats?" Jason asked.

"He was, but since animals are a witch's friends, there are ways to help both yourself and your loved ones happily coexist with them."

"Sorry for the interruption, carry on, Mom."

"Here goes: Once upon a time, in late sixteenth century Europe, was a young woman who had inherited certain powers very few others possessed."

"Sixteenth century?" Sam echoed. "Mom, are you over five hundred years old?"

"No honey, I'm as old as I look."

"Well, if Mom is not immortal, then she must have traveled in time," Jason surmised.

"Who's telling the story here, kids? Me or you?"

"Sorry Mom," the kids said in unison.

"No problem. As I was saying, once upon a time there was a young woman who possessed certain unique powers. Said young woman was me, as you may have already guessed."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Before we begin, let me express my gratitude and appreciation of the enthusiastic reception you gave the opening chapter of this story. Moving on to the plot, this chapter is of necessity Sarah-centric. Rest assured that Chuck will be making another appearance very soon. But for now…

* * *

Sometime in the late sixteenth century…

"Good day to you, Sarah," a woman said.

"Good day to you, Milady," Sarah replied, bowing respectfully before the older woman.

"Come now, my dear, we've known each other too long and we can dispense with the formalities."

"Still, we are in the city now, Lady Gertrude. We have to keep up a certain level of decorum."

"All right," the noblewoman said. "Is your father around?"

"Yes, we are on our weekly trip to supply our clients and in turn stock up on items not found in town."

"I hear that you can find the latest in clothing trends at the seamstress'."

"I will pay her a visit later, once I'm done with purchasing the necessities."

"You really should. Right now, I have to bid you goodbye, Sarah, since there is a matter I need to attend to."

"Naturally, Milady. Give my father's regards to Sir John as well."

"Give our regards to your parents."

Sarah nodded and turned towards the vendors' stalls in the market. She wanted to get her mother some things one could not easily find in the small town where they lived. Later, her basket was filled with some of the ingredients for her and her sister's favorite dish, and she had also bought a very nice scarf for her mother and another for her sister.

It was late Monday morning when Sarah and her father finally made their way into their hometown. There, Jack Walker owned and operated an inn and store. They left some of the things they had bought in their place and took the rest to deliver them to the people that had ordered them.

Later, Sarah went into the woods near the town to gather some herbs for beverages and for cooking. On the road just outside of town, she ran into a priest.

"Father Shaw," Sarah said, greeting him.

"Hello Sarah. I haven't seen you in church for quite a while now."

"You know that I go to the city with my father on business every week," she replied, not in the mood for small talk.

"It must be tiring," he said.

"Not really," she replied flippantly. "I like the trips. Plus, you can find things in the big city that are not common out here."

"But finding a fine young lady like you is very difficult, Sarah. You are quite unique," Father Shaw said, circling Sarah.

"As much as I appreciate the compliment, people might get the wrong idea, Father. After all, you're a man of god, and as such you're not supposed to be courting women."

"My apologies. You see, I wasn't always a priest and old habits die hard."

"Apology accepted. Well, Father, I shall bid you good day. I have work to do."

"By all means, Sarah. Have a good day." He turned to watch her as she walked away. "Someday, Sarah," he muttered. "Someday I'll make you mine." Then he left. The townspeople thought that their congenial priest had been a soldier earlier in his life, something he hadn't bothered to deny. In fact, he'd been a member of a notorious gang of highwaymen. He'd only entered the priesthood after betraying his old partners for the reward. And he was also the leader of a new gang, his own gang, using his position as a convenient cover. After all, who would suspect a man of the cloth of being a robber and murderer?

Sarah didn't hear him. Instead, she made her way to a clump of trees to gather some delicious mushrooms. By the roots of one tree she saw a small bird that had obviously fallen from its nest. It had a broken wing and couldn't fly.

"Come here, little one," she said, cupping the small creature in her hands. "You must be hurting and it's not safe for you down here." She ran her hand over the bird's broken wing. The next instant, it was healed. "There you go." She briefly nuzzled it and then sent it on its merry way. It was always like this for her: she loved using her powers to do good things. Of course, she had to be discreet and very careful about it, but it made her feel good all the time.

One day, Sarah was sweeping the area outside the inn when a man rode by on horseback. He stopped and dismounted.

"Sir John," Sarah said.

"Good day, Sarah," Sir John Casey replied. "I was wondering if you would happen to have some of that amazing brew you buy in the city."

"I believe we can accommodate you, Sir John. Would you like a snack to go with your beer?"

"Just the beer will do," he replied.

"Take a seat. I'll get you your beer right away."

"Is your father here?"

"He went to the blacksmith's, but he'll be back shortly."

"I learned something interesting today," the nobleman said, making himself comfortable at a table near a window.

"Define interesting, please."

"A messenger passed through on his way to the city. He didn't say much, but from what he told me, someone important will be passing through here in the next day or two."

"Does this concern us in any way, Sir John?"

"Maybe. If he and his entourage have to spend the night here, your father's inn is the best place. I'll be sure to recommend it to them."

"Then allow me to thank you on my father's behalf." She poured him some more beer. "It's on the house," she smiled.

"Thank you Sarah."

"It's my pleasure, Sir John."

Just like Sir John had said, a cavalcade arrived at the town just a couple of days later, in the evening. They rarely had such important people coming there, so naturally the arrival caused quite a stir. As he'd promised, Sir John recommended Jack Walker's inn for the travelers to spend the night in.

"His Eminence Cardinal Juan Diego Arnauldo," the leader of his escort announced.

"Welcome to my humble establishment, Your Eminence," Jack Walker said, keeping to protocol.

"Thank you for your warm welcome, Master Walker," the Cardinal replied. "Your establishment comes very highly recommended."

"I have reserved our best room for you. And I believe your travel companions will find the rooms allocated to them most adequate."

"So Sir John tells me."

"Sir John is a great man, your Eminence. We served together during the last war."

The cardinal and his entourage had a very filling dinner, cooked by Jack Walker's wife and served by his daughters, before retiring to their rooms. They were on their way to the city first thing in the morning. The inn had made a very tidy profit with the transients' stay. By midday, everything was back to normal and the Walker family didn't give the matter another thought. After all, they couldn't know what life altering sequence of events the cardinal's passing through town had initiated.

For the moment, they were content to live their lives normally. Of course, for Sarah normal meant occasional use of her magical powers, always to do good deeds, in addition to helping run the family business. One of said deeds was magically fixing the wall of a house while passing by outside. It belonged to a widow who was raising her children all by herself and couldn't afford to hire a handyman to make the necessary repairs. She also read a lot, especially the book of spells her great aunt had left her. Since she had the powers, she reasoned, she might as well get better at using them.

-o-

The man steered his wagon towards the diocese in the heart of the city. He found a convenient parking space nearby to leave the wagon and also took off his heavy traveling cloak. He was none other than priest/gang leader Daniel Shaw. And he was there in his capacity as a priest. He had met the cardinal who had passed through his town and hatched a plan to get back at Sarah Walker, especially after she'd unequivocally rebuffed his advances – again.

"The Cardinal will see you now, Father Shaw," another cleric informed him.

"Thank you." He walked into the office of the diocese allocated to Cardinal Arnauldo. He approached the massive ornately carved desk and bowed. "Thank you for seeing me, Your Eminence."

"I am always interested in holding discussions with local priests everywhere I go. What can I do for you, Father?"

"Basically, I have something quite vexing to tell you, Your Eminence," Shaw replied.

"I'm listening."

"I think one of the townspeople, specifically a woman, may be a witch. I lack the experience to reach conclusions with any degree of certainty. You, however, as an Inquisitor, can surely help with the matter."

"Father Shaw, I have overseen many cases where people were falsely accused of witchcraft, mostly by honest mistakes, but some maliciously. These people I've been able to exonerate. Therefore I have to ask: Are you sure?"

"If I were positively sure, I'd have her arrested and taken here for trial and execution, Your Eminence."

"Very well. You can begin by telling me her name."

"Her name is Sarah Walker, Your Eminence."

"Sarah Walker?" Arnauldo echoed. "The younger daughter of your town's innkeeper?"

"The same."

"Granted, I only knew her for less than a day, but she didn't give me the impression of being a witch. Far from it, in fact."

"Your Eminence, you and I both know that evil sometimes hides under a veil of virtue. True, Sarah Walker does appear to be merely a fair maiden, devoted to her family and to God, but there have been some instances where things might not be what they seemed."

"Go on," the cardinal urged.

"I have personally seen her make a lot of trips into the woods, alone. These are dangerous woods, Your Eminence. It's not prudent at all for a young woman to enter them all alone, but she seems to be totally disregarding the dangers, unless of course she has the means to protect herself from them. And I am not talking about her carrying weapons on her person."

"What can one find in the woods near your town?"

"Aside from wolves, other dangerous animals and the occasional outlaw? Just fruit, mushrooms and herbs, I suppose."

"Could it be that she simply goes there to gather what she needs for her kitchen and not go deep into the woods?"

"It's a possibility," Shaw admitted. "But she does spend a lot of time there."

"Has anyone else reported anything strange about her?"

"No, everyone seems to think of her as a paragon of virtue, Your Eminence."

"So, the only one suspicious is you. I'll ask again. Why?"

"Maybe it's because only I happened to notice a couple of things, and only because I happened to be at the right place at the right time."

"Explain, please."

"There is a widow living in town, with her three small children. Her husband died in an accident a couple of years ago. Their home is in poor condition. Or rather was in poor condition. It looked like a wall was about to collapse and repairs to shore it up would be beyond the owner's means. Then, one day, just after Sarah Walker happened to pass by, it was fixed."

"Fixed? What do you mean by that?"

"Outwardly, nothing appeared to have changed. But a neighbor helping the widow chop wood accidentally rammed a log into it and it held instead of crumbling."

"I'm still not convinced. After all, appearances could have been deceiving and the wall was most likely more solid than it looked."

"Your Eminence, I was there when the wall suffered damage before it somehow got fixed. There is no way said damage was only superficial. And then there is another thing: She has cats, Your Eminence."

"So?"

"Cats are witches' favorite animals."

"They are also very useful in hunting down and exterminating vermin. For an inn, cats are indispensable."

"One or two yes, but a dozen or more?" Shaw insisted.

Arnauldo was conflicted. Sure, he had been very careful throughout his career as an Inquisitor to allow anyone accused of heresy or witchcraft ample opportunity to prove their innocence before him. He had seen other inquisitors abuse their positions through ignorance or pride and he was determined not to make the same mistakes. But this time the accuser was a priest who lived in the same town as the person he accused of witchcraft. Arnauldo could not ignore it. "You are a man of God, like me, Father. Therefore, I cannot ignore your report. I'll decide on the best course of action and implement it forthwith."

"That is all I ask, Your Eminence."

"You are excused now, Father."

Shaw left, smiling evilly. The Inquisitor might be reluctant, but he would investigate, as he'd just promised. With a little luck, Sarah Walker would end up being burned at the stake. She deserved it for giving him the cold shoulder and for maybe being an actual witch. Damn, he was going to enjoy that.

Sarah, however, had one thing going for her. Someone had overheard the discussion between the cardinal and the priest. This someone also happened to know Sarah's family quite well, since he was from the same town. And he owed a lot to Jack Walker, who'd helped him considerably before the move to the big city. Now it was time to return the favor. The man didn't hesitate for a second before mounting his horse and riding to his hometown as fast as the animal could carry him.

-o-

Back to the future…

"That Shaw guy was a real douche," Jason remarked.

"Hey! Watch your language, son," Chuck admonished.

"Sorry Dad, but it's true. Denouncing Mom to the inquisition just because she didn't want to be his girlfriend? Talk about a sore loser."

Samantha took the cue. "He was a creep all right, but as it turned out, he unknowingly and unwillingly did a lot of good, at least as far as we are concerned, Jason."

"I know where you're getting at, sis. Mom had to run for her life and in doing so met Dad. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Kids, bear in mind that you're getting a shortened and abridged version of the events of that time in my life," Sarah told them. "I'm also trying to keep it to a level suitable for children of your age. I think you understand."

"Oh, we don't mind, Mom. After all, the juicy part is how you ended up here in LA. We also want to know when, where and how you met Dad. You haven't told us about it," Jason said.

"But first, you can finish telling us the first part of the story," Sam added.

"Okay," Sarah agreed. "Here goes…"

-o-

Jack's friend knew that he could make it to the town long before the inquisitor got started getting things organized for the investigation. Therefore, the falsely accused girl, for he was very certain that Sarah was innocent, would have plenty of time to escape to a place where no one would find her.

"Jack! I need to talk to you right away," he said without preamble, before even dismounting from his horse.

"Why, what's the rush?"

"Your daughter Sarah is in grave danger, my friend."

"Explain," Jack Walker said brusquely.

"It's the doing of this new priest you have here. He went to the cardinal and claimed that Sarah is a witch."

Of course, Jack Walker knew very well that Sarah was indeed a witch. Said knowledge, however, was limited to himself, his wife and his oldest daughter. Not one outside of the family had any clue about it. "The bastard!" Jack exploded. "Sarah told me all about him trying to court her. Looks like he doesn't take no for an answer too well."

"Listen, I overheard everything. The cardinal is a fair man, and normally he'd have dismissed the accusations out of hand, but for Shaw's status as a priest. It'll take time to prepare for a formal investigation into the matter, so I suggest you take advantage of it and send Sarah away, at least until this whole thing blows over or until you can prove that she has been falsely accused."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I owe you bigger than that, my friend."

"Still, I'm grateful for the risk you took, coming here to inform me of the plot against my daughter."

"It was no risk at all. If I ride all night, I will be back in the city before anyone notices that I was gone. Goodbye and good luck, my friend."

"Take care."

Jack wasted no time. The first thing he did was go talk to another friend of his, one who had the potential to help, a lot. Said friend was none other than Sir John Casey.

"I really find it hard to believe," Sir John said. "A man of God committing such an act of treachery against one of the most respected families in this town. Your source was correct. You need to send your daughter away, to a place where she'll be safe, until we get to the bottom of this. You can count on my help all the way."

"John, I'll be forever indebted to you."

"No you won't. I haven't forgotten how you saved my life once, even if you think I didn't notice it at the time. Now it's time for me to repay the debt. Just be sure to ask the inquisitor to take testimony from me and my wife regarding your daughter's character."

"Again, thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have to go. There are things I need to take care of."

"Good luck. And rest assured you have a lot of people in this town that will back you and your family all the way."

The ride back to his house was filled with a multitude of thoughts for Jack Walker. Everyone was telling him to get Sarah to safety before anything else. True, flight might look like an indication of guilt at first glance, but considering the methods usually employed by inquisitors on suspected heretics and witches it was the best option. Thus, it was with a heavy heart that he entered the house, about to break the news to his wife and daughters.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **You know, I feel that managing only one update a week so far is extremely unfair to you all, considering the way you have embraced this story and the support you keep providing me with, but then again, it's the best I can do, being busy at work and all. Hopefully, things will slow down to a more relaxed pace soon and I'll be able to add new chapters more frequently. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

* * *

"Sir John is right, Jack," Emma Walker agreed.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sarah insisted. "I will expose Shaw to the Inquisitor for the fraud he is."

"You must leave, Sarah," her older sister came to the support of their parents.

"No. I will face this head on. I'm not going to become a fugitive because he wants to make an example of me so that other girls will get in his bed."

Her parents exchanged a meaningful look. Sarah was as stubborn as the two of them combined. "Darling," Emma said patiently, trying to make her daughter see reason. "We've all heard of the methods the Inquisition is partial to. Do you really want this to happen? Shaw's standing as the town priest is enough in this respect. Not even Sir John and Lady Gertrude's testimony would save you from a very thorough interrogation."

"We need to be sure that you'll be safe. Only then Sir John and I will work on exposing Shaw for what he really is: a lecher and nothing else."

"Besides," Carina added. "You really are a witch, Sarah. If they get even the slightest hint, they'll burn you at the stake."

"But if I leave, it'll put pressure on you."

"Nonsense," Jack said. "Had it not been for my friend Frost, we'd still be in the dark about everything. I can say I sent you away to visit friends or family."

"It sounds believable," Sarah conceded the point.

"It is believable. Therefore, I want you to go pack for travel. Carina will help you. Emma and I will prepare the cart and harness a horse to it.

"Don't forget your book, too," Emma reminded her. "You know which one."

"I'll go pack," Sarah said solemnly.

Later, after some luggage and other essentials had been packed and loaded on the cart, it was time for the goodbyes. Only Jack's eyes were somewhat dry. The tears were flowing freely from his wife's and daughters' eyes.

"We'll see you soon, Angel," he promised.

"Remember, we'll tell people that you headed southeast," Emma reminded her, wiping her tears.

"While I'll be heading northwest into the woods."

"It's the safest place, since there are no roads in there and therefore no outlaws. But promise you'll be careful."

"I promise."

"I have an idea," Carina piped up. "When you're in a safe place, see if your book has anything helpful."

"Of course!" Jack exclaimed. "Do you remember what my aunt Katherine said about the book? That it has a few spells to help you out of some tight corners?"

"I do remember, father," she replied.

"Then use it. It'll be better for us knowing that you're somewhere safe sooner than possible with a horse drawn cart." He draped a traveling cloak over his daughter's shoulders and hugged her. "As to how we'll get news from you or to you, don't worry."

"It may be a long time before we hear from each other," she pointed out.

"That may be, but at least you'll be safe, which is all that matters to us right now. Go. Don't waste any more time."

"All right," Sarah said and hugged her father once more. Then she was trapped in a bear hug by her sister.

"Till we meet again, Sarah," Carina said.

"We _will_ meet again. Goodbye for now."

Her father had given her a very good horse. She set off towards the woods at a fast trot. There was still daylight left, so she expected to go some distance from the town before halting for the night. As the sun set, it got darker in the woods, but there was enough light to keep going for a while longer.

Eventually, she tugged at the reins and brought the cart to a halt at the edge of a small clearing. She knew the place well, for she and her father had been coming there for fishing in the nearby creek for ages. It was off the beaten track, in fact not many people ventured near this place despite its relative closeness to the town, so she could safely spend the night there and get moving again at first light.

Tethering the horse to a tree and getting some water from the creek was the first order of business. Then, she erected a canvas canopy over the cart to provide her with a little more shelter for the night. Dinner was frugal and consisted of some bread and ham, washed down with a little wine and a couple of cupfuls of water. Afterwards, Sarah lit a shaded lamp and proceeded to make a nest for herself in the cart to sleep in. Covering herself with a blanket her mother had made for her, she was about to blow out the light when she noticed the book in its sturdy oak case just behind the seat.

She shrugged, picked up the case, opened it and took the book in her hands. Remembering her father's advice on seeing what it had to offer, she leafed through it until she came to a piece of paper stuck between two pages. It was a note from her great aunt, addressed to her and informing her that the following section of the book concerned relocation spells, which should be used sparingly and only in emergencies. Well, Sarah's situation definitely qualified as an emergency.

In the flickering light provided by the lamp, Sarah read about how she could magically move from one place to another. Some spells worked only for short distances, which sounded like fun, but they weren't exactly appropriate for her situation. No, there was something far more useful a couple of pages down.

"That one will do," she muttered. "Long distance relocation… yes, it'll do nicely." Sarah had to look hard in order to read the text, as the lighting wasn't the best and the ink had faded a bit in places. First of all, she read the instructions. She had to recite an incantation first and then read the final part of the spell.

She followed the instructions and recited the incantation. And then…

"Take me away from the place I've been to another life in another world.  
Take me away from the place I've been to another time in another world.  
Take me away from the place I've been to another life in another world.  
Take me away from the place I've been to another time in another world."

Nothing happened. But she wasn't worried. According to the text, she had to fall asleep for the magic to work. She would then wake up in a different place. However, in her rush to get someplace safe fast, like her family wished, she had missed the paragraph containing a clarification at the end of the page. And this was going to have consequences.

All she had to do now was wait. Opening a bag, carefully deposited the case with the book in it, placed a pillow under her head and lay down to sleep after extinguishing the light. She soon fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

-o-

An irregular tapping sound woke Sarah up. She groaned and shifted her position, still clutching the blanket around her body. The tapping got louder. Finally, Sarah opened her eyes and with some effort focused on her surroundings. The sun was still low on the eastern horizon, which meant that it was early in the morning.

"Miss, can you open a window please?" The question came from a young woman wearing a uniform with a shiny gold star pinned to the chest.

"Uh, yes, hold on." Sarah surprised herself by reaching into a compartment and pulling out a key, which she inserted in a lock and turned it. Then she pushed a button and a glass window rolled down. _How did I know to do that? Where am I and how did I get here? I'll look into the matter later,_ she thought. Aloud, she said: "What is the matter?"

"I saw you in your vehicle and wanted to make sure you were all right, ma'am," the other woman replied.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I just needed some rest."

"May I see your license and registration please?"

"Sure," Sarah replied. She reached into the compartment where the key had been and pulled out a piece of paper wrapped in transparent plastic and also a wallet. "Here you go," she said, handing over the requested items.

"Everything seems to be in order, Ms. Walker. I'm sorry for disturbing you. Have a nice day." The officer handed Sarah back the registration and the driver's license, gave her a casual salute and left.

"You too," Sarah said, just before the other woman turned to walk away. Then she took a better look at her surroundings. She was in an open space, inside a vehicle. Somehow, she knew that she was in a parking lot, inside a car. The car was loaded with her luggage: one large and one small suitcase, a travel bag and a duffel bag, plus a few cardboard boxes.

She got out of the car and surveyed the area. The parking lot was part of a highway rest stop, which included a diner, which was most fortunate, as a loud rumbling from her stomach informed her that she was very hungry. Sarah resolved to find out what had gone wrong and resulted in her ending up in an entirely different world from the one she'd started out of later. Her first priority right now was breakfast.

Another thing she noticed while walking towards the diner after mechanically pressing a button on the car keys to lock the vehicle was her clothing. She wasn't wearing the dress she had on the previous day. Instead, she had on a pair of form fitting pants, a frilly white top and a tan leather jacket, plus a pair of boots on her feet. At least she liked the outfit. Entering the diner, she took a booth at a window. Almost immediately, a waitress appeared.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," Sarah replied.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, thank you."

The waitress quickly poured her a cup. "Can I get you anything else?"

Sarah took a quick look at the menu. "I'd like the house special breakfast omelet, some toast and a croissant, please."

"I'll just be a second." The waitress jotted down Sarah's order on a pad, went to the counter and handed the top page to the guy behind it.

While waiting, Sarah again surveyed her surroundings. She had by now accepted the fact that this was an entirely different world than the one she knew. Of course, all she'd seen so far was a highway rest stop, but she was somehow sure that her family would like it. Hell, she was beginning to like it herself. Taking a sip of her coffee, she grimaced at the bitter taste, so she did what she'd seen other customers do: she added milk and sugar to it, until she finally had a good tasting beverage. The rest of her meal was equally enjoyable. When she was done, she signaled the waitress for the check. She remembered that she'd left her wallet in the car, but she found enough cash in her pockets to pay for her breakfast.

"Okay," she muttered once she stepped out into the parking lot again, while putting on the sunglasses she'd found in a jacket pocket. "Now, all I have to do is find out how I got myself into this mess." Making a beeline to her car, she unlocked it and got in the driver's seat. Then, she reached behind her and retrieved the case containing the book of spells. In the light of day, she flipped to the page she'd used to cast her relocation spell and reread it carefully. "Damn," she exclaimed as she read the clarification and the additional instructions at the end of the page. "This explains everything. I should have said 'take me away from the place I've been to another place'. The phrase I said was for the most extensive, maximum effect spell, which is how I ended up here." She kept reading and learned that such a spell used up a lot of magical energy. She wouldn't be able to cast another spell for the rest of the day, until her magical powers were restored to their usual level.

-o-

Later, as she drove towards Los Angeles, Sarah was still marveling at the way she knew how to operate the car and the fact that she had a fully established identity, ID card, driver's license, social security number and all, even though everything was explained by the powerful spell she'd used. At one point, she even put the top down on her Porsche and enjoyed the feeling as she headed down the highway towards the big city. Once there, she would look for a place to stay. But before that, she resolved to drive around the city, just to get some first impressions about it.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sarah exclaimed in frustration. She had bought an information and business directory at a bookstore and found what seemed to be a nice place to stay: the Maison 23 residence hotel. But as she was about to head over there, using the GPS function of her cell phone to find her way, it just stopped functioning. Sure, the contacts list was blank, but it had a number of useful functions. Now, however, it was useless.

While she was about to take a turn, she spotted a mall. One of the stores sold and serviced electric and electronic appliances. It would do very nicely indeed. She easily found a parking space and this time she remembered to retrieve her wallet from the center console before getting out of the car. She then walked into a store called Buy More.

-o-

"Stop the presses! Who is that? Vicky Vale!"

"Vicky Vale, Vick-a-Vicky Vale, Vickity-Vickity-Vickity Vale, Vick-a-Vicky Vale," a lanky curly haired young man commented on his short bearded friend's exclamation. Then he noticed the look on his other friend's face and finally turned to see what they had just seen. What he saw took his breath away.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the blonde goddess said.

"Not at all, that's from Batman."

"And that makes it all better? Anyway, I have a problem. My phone suddenly stopped working." She set it down on the counter and pushed it in the direction of the tall bespectacled blond young man standing behind it. "I really need it. Can you please see if you can fix it for me?"

"It's an Intellicell," the Batman comment guy said.

"That it is," Skip, as the name tag identified him, agreed.

"It's an easy fix," his friend continued. He plucked a screwdriver out of Skip's pocket protector and opened the cover on the phone, extracting the battery. "This model has a screw here and it sometimes has the tendency to work itself loose. Just a couple of quick turns, and it's good as new. There you go."

"I'm impressed. And you don't even work here."

"But I used to. In fact, this was my station. Where are my manners? I'm Chuck, Chuck Bartowski. These are my friends Morgan Grimes and Skip Johnson."

"Sarah, Sarah Walker," she replied, extending her hand, which Chuck took. "Chuck and Morgan, huh? Pretty unusual names, if you ask me."

"My parents were sadists," Chuck joked. "And carnival freaks found him in a dumpster," he added, nodding in Morgan's direction.

"But they raised me as one of their own," Morgan piped up, not missing a beat. It was obvious to Sarah that the men in front of her were all good friends. She laughed at the self deprecating comments along with them, thanked them effusively and left. Throughout the drive to the Maison 23, she kept thinking about the man who had repaired her phone: Chuck. It was fair to say that she'd never met anyone quite like him. And he'd definitely made an impression on her. Not long later, the doorman was helping her carry her stuff up to room 832. And then she worked on unpacking and tidying up. She was going to like this place very much. It was comfortable, in a good part of the city and not too expensive, even though she knew from a stop at an ATM that she somehow had sufficient savings to last her a few months. But she would need a job, soon. Thankfully, she'd found letters of reference from various San Diego based businesses in a briefcase. "I never knew magic could provide so much," she mused aloud. "But I did ask for a new life, inadvertently as it may have been…"

The next thing on her to do list was shopping for groceries. The apartment she'd rented had a small, but well equipped kitchen, plus she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Locking the door behind her, she went straight to the front desk.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Walker?"

"Since I'm new in town, I was wondering if you could recommend me a place to buy groceries from," she told the receptionist.

"Yes, there is one, not far from here and it's open all day." The receptionist grabbed a notepad and drew a rough map. Tearing the top page off, she handed it to Sarah.

"Thank you." The place was close enough to walk, so Sarah didn't bother taking her car.

-o-

The shopping cart was already half filled with various things Sarah needed when she stopped in front of a very large freezer. _They certainly didn't have these where I came from_, she thought. _Let's try this Rocky Road thing. I sure like the name._ The carton of ice cream went into the cart.

She was trying to think of anything else she might need when she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the man said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"I wasn't watching either… Chuck?"

"Sarah?"

"What are you doing here?" They both asked in unison.

"Ladies first," Chuck said.

"All right. I just moved here and I needed some groceries. What about you?"

"I ran out of my thinking juice and this place is the closest to my house that carries my favorite brand."

"Thinking juice?" Sarah echoed.

"Yes, you see, I'm a computer programmer and hardware designer. A nice chardonnay helps me work."

"I see."

"So, you're new in town, huh? Where are you from?"

"I was born here, but lived in San Diego for most of my life. I moved back in Los Angeles today."

"Oh. How do you find it now?"

"I honestly don't know," she replied. "I was very little when my family moved to San Diego. I'm basically just getting started to know LA."

"OK. Well, if you need electronics or home appliances, go to the Buy More. Ask for Skip or just mention you're a friend of mine. This way you'll get excellent service."

"Thank you Chuck."

-o-

"So, this is how you two met?" Jason asked his parents.

"In fact, we bumped into each other three times that day," Chuck informed his son.

"Where was the third time?" Samantha piped up.

"I decided to take a shortcut to the Maison 23 through the parking lot," Sarah said. "And in doing so I bumped into your father… again."

"Sam, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jason asked his sister.

"Yes. It sounds just like the beginning of Bewitched. Samantha kept bumping into Darrin."

"Chuck introduced me to the show after we started dating," Sarah said. "This is also where your name came from, Sam."

"Duh, I figured it out a long time ago," Sam shrugged. "But I think it's cool nonetheless. So, what happened next?"

-o-

Sarah had dropped one bag when she'd bumped into Chuck in the parking lot. Fortunately, it didn't contain anything fragile. Once again, they apologized to each other, unnecessarily… And then…

"At least let me give you a lift to your place, Sarah. I know it's not far from here, but you have a lot to carry. Plus, I won't be going out of my way."

"Okay," Sarah said, after thinking it over. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said while helping load her bags in the trunk of his SAAB SportCombi. He then gentlemanly held the passenger side door open for her. She smiled and got in. "So, what are your plans now that you're back in LA?"

"First of all, I'm going to look for a job. I have saved enough to get by for a while, but it won't last forever."

"What's your field?"

"I graduated from Harvard University Law School with a minor in marketing, so I think I'm qualified enough to find a decent job."

"You can try and get a job at Orion Computers and Software. I know for a fact that they are hiring."

"How do you know?"

"I work there," he replied.

"Oh. Well, I'll definitely think about it." Moments later they arrived at the Maison 23. Chuck offered to help her carry her stuff upstairs, but she thanked him and declined. Before wishing her goodnight, he expressed the hope that she'd get a job at Orion.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I finally managed to finish a chapter in less than a week! Woo-hoo! I hope you'll like it as much as the previous ones, especially the humor as Sarah tries to navigate the new world she's in. You may find references to a couple of other movies, too. Enjoy!

* * *

Chuck went back to his place, going through the motions of driving like an automaton, while thinking about the incredible series of coincidences that had happened throughout the day. Seeing the same gorgeous girl three times in a row, all in the space of less than twenty-four hours? What were the odds? Granted, two out of three times were at the supermarket, but still… LA was a very big city.

He also meant what he'd told her, about her getting a job at Orion. Sure, she was definitely more than qualified, but for some reason he wanted to be able to see her again… and again.

He retrieved his purchases from the back seat, locked the car and headed for his apartment, cheerfully whistling a tune. He was almost to the door when someone intercepted him. He'd been so deep in thought that he let out a startled yelp before he realized who it was.

"Ellie," he said. "Next time, make more noise."

"Come on, little brother. Mom and Dad are over for dinner."

"I have work to do…"

"They won't hold it against you, if you turn in your project later than you originally planned… and still within the deadline, I might add." She barely gave him the time to leave the shopping bag in the kitchen before grabbing his hand and dragging him to her apartment next door, where her boyfriend and her parents were waiting.

"Ellie was looking for you all over the place, Chuck," his mother said. "Where were you?"

"I just went to the store to stock up on thinking juice, Mom."

"One day, you are going to turn into an alcoholic without even realizing it, little brother," Ellie said.

"Come on, sis, I only drink the equivalent of two or three glasses when I'm working. It's not like I'm emptying bottle after bottle."

"He is right, Eleanor," Stephen J. Bartowski commented seriously. "And since you mentioned the thinking juice, you never told me and your mother what exactly you're working on."

"I told you, it's a surprise."

"Chuck, we are running a multimillion dollar business," Mary Bartowski reminded her son. "We need to know that you're not wasting your time. Of course, all the products you've come up with so far have sold very well. So, what is it? A game?"

"Not a game," he informed them. "It's something we can sell along with our 3-D printers, additive stereolithography, rapid prototyping, selective laser melting and CNC machines. Basically, it's an easy-to-use program that can convert two-dimensional images into 3-D renderings without the need for specialized CAD software. Then, the printer will do its job and, presto, you have the finished object. Modelers and artists, professionals and amateurs alike will love it. Imagine having to make a part for, say, a classic car and all you have to work with is a set of drawings. You scan them, feed them into the program, allow it to render, turn on a CNC machine and then you'll have what you need with spectacular precision, too."

"I'll take your word for it," Stephen said, smiling.

"Can it have medical applications?" Devon asked.

"I don't see why not. It can be used to make patient specific prosthetics, or make a facsimile of an injury, for example a complex bone fracture, allowing you to decide on the best treatment."

"I may need your help on a medical journal article you just gave me the idea for. Of course, I'll have to wait until your program is officially released," Devon said.

"I'll be glad to help. By the way, Mom, is the position in marketing filled?"

"Not yet, why?"

"Because I told someone to apply for it. She's more than qualified."

"She?" Ellie queried.

"Yes, she. What's so weird about that?"

"Is she pretty?" Ellie insisted, having a sly grin on her face. In her opinion, her brother had gone too long without a girlfriend.

"Looks have nothing to do with it. I just ran into her, we talked and I found out that she has a law degree from Harvard with a minor in marketing. So, Mom, the question stands. Have you hired anyone yet?"

"No. In fact, I rejected a candidate earlier today. If your new, um, acquaintance wants to apply for the job, she's more than welcome to do it."

"Okay, enough talking about work," Ellie said. "Dinner is ready. Chuck, gimme a hand, will you?"

-o-

Even though she knew exactly what she had to do, Sarah was still amazed by the way she'd acquired the knowledge, as well as the actual technology she was using, as she placed a single pizza portion in the microwave. She also made the spur of the moment decision to be brave and try one of the carbonated beverages she'd picked up at the supermarket, after doing some unpacking and tidying up the apartment. With the first bite, she took an expression of bliss. And then she made a face. Realizing what the problem was, she picked the olives off of her pizza and resolved to keep eating them raw from then on. The task completed, she took a sip of soda… and burped. The unexpected effect caused her to giggle.

After dinner, Sarah sat in one of the comfortable easy chairs by a window, looking at the street below. Later, among her things, she'd found a brand new laptop computer. It was an Orion model, top of the line. She used it to send a job application to the company. "I'm possessed," she chuckled as she watched her fingers fly deftly over the keyboard, filling in the required forms, but of course she knew that she wasn't really possessed. It kind of felt like it, though… in a good way.

The task completed, she browsed through a suitcase for sleepwear. Instead of the conservative nightdresses she'd been wearing in her previous life, she found a pair of satin shorts and a matching sleeveless spaghetti strap top, by Agent Provocateur. Running the material between her fingers, she determined that it would feel luxurious on her skin, especially after a nice bubble bath, which was next on her agenda. After all, she had already bought everything necessary. And in the morning she'd have her powers back.

-o-

When she woke up, she decided to do the rest of her unpacking. The clothes and shoes went into the closet, underwear and more clothing in the dresser, while her book in its case was carefully deposited in a nightstand drawer. Her hand reached for an unopened box. It contained a picture frame she had purchased at the supermarket. It already had a picture inside, one of the generic photos placed in new frames before they were shipped off to the stores. She held her hand lightly over the glass and closed her eyes. When she opened them again and pulled her hand away, the landscape in the picture had been replaced by the image of her with her family. Her father was in a suit, her mother in a casual dress, while she had a blouse on and her sister was in an open necked shirt. Yep, they'd all look good in the 21st century.

"I miss you already," she whispered. "And I really wish you were all here with me. You'd definitely love this place and era." A few tears fell from her eyes. She quickly wiped them, took the picture with her and lovingly set it down on a shelf in the small but comfortable living room.

Eventually, she decided that gloom wasn't going to cut it for her. So, she went to the kitchenette and turned the coffee machine on. She had decided the previous day that she liked the stuff very much. While waiting for it to be ready, she changed out of her sleepwear into a pair of grey sweatpants, a white tank top and sneakers. It was a most comfortable outfit, too. Sipping her coffee, she turned the TV on, curious to learn more about the new world she was now a part of.

-o-

Mary Elizabeth Bartowski signed some documents and handed them to her secretary before focusing on another matter requiring her attention: employment applications. One of them had been filed just the previous night and was thus at the top of the inbox. She read it twice, remembering what her son had said about the girl he'd met being a Harvard graduate. Her references seemed OK, too. Mary also trusted her son's judgment, so she quickly composed a reply to the application, asking this Ms. Sarah Walker to come by her office for an interview at her earliest convenience. A look at the rest of the applications revealed that Sarah's was the only one for the PR, Marketing and Advertising Division. "Well, unless she screws up royally in the interview, the job is hers," she mused.

Meanwhile, Sarah was still in her apartment watching the morning news, trying to discern and absorb everything important. By now had just finished her third cup of coffee and was discovering one of the less pleasant side effects of its consumption: the need to visit the bathroom. She was about to sit back down and watch the rest of the news, when…

_PING! _"You have one new email," her computer informed her.

"Let's see what we have here," Sarah muttered and began reading aloud. "Dear Ms. Walker, we hereby inform you that your application for a position with the Orion Computers and Software Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising Division is currently being considered and in this scope you are invited to an interview at your earliest convenience. To make an appointment with a senior executive, please call one of the numbers listed below as soon as practicable. We look forward to hearing from you soon." Just to be sure, she reread it twice. "Huh. Then I better call them, make an appointment and then get ready for the interview, which begs the question: What should I wear?"

Sarah decided to solve the wardrobe problem later. First, she had to make the appointment. So, she picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Orion Computers and Software," came the reply.

"Hello, my name is Sarah Walker and I received an email about a job interview," Sarah said.

"Yes, Ms. Walker. I have your name on the list. Can you make it here in two hours?"

"Two hours will be just fine."

"Excellent. Just go to the front desk and check in with security. You'll then be given directions to the Vice President's office."

"I'll be there in two hours. Thank you."

"You are welcome."

After hanging up the phone, Sarah opened a new browser window on her computer and typed 'job interview wardrobe suggestions' in a search bar. She looked at the various suggestions, taking note of the most important points. And then she raided her wardrobe. In the end she found a shirt, a jacket and a tie she was definitely going to wear, but she still had to choose between two skirts and a pair of pants.

"They call this a skirt?" Sarah wondered, holding up a very short form fitting skirt. "Not even the harlots in the city used to wear something this… small. And the site recommends something decent but not too conservative. It's either the other skirt or the pants." The other skirt came to just above her knees, and it looked like a good choice. She quickly put on the shirt, skirt and loosely looped the silver grey tie around her neck. Then she tucked the shirt in and tried the jacket on. She had to admit that she looked very good. A pair of three inch heels completed the outfit. "It's a miracle women can actually stand in these things, let alone walk," she remarked, taking a couple of unsteady steps, trying to get used to the unfamiliar footwear. She would have worn flats, but the site mentioned something about stature, so heels were kind of a one-way choice. She soon managed to wobble only slightly on the heels.

"Hello Ms. Walker," the doorman said as she walked across the lobby. "What's up?"

She looked at the ceiling. "Up where?"

"Are you all right, Ms. Walker?"

Sarah realized that it must have been a modern expression she was totally unfamiliar with. "Sorry, I was distracted."

"Nothing bad, I hope."

"Job interview," she informed him. "I have to go."

"Break a leg," the man wished her, smiling.

She almost twisted an ankle going out the door. "In these heels, I most likely will," she muttered. "But that break a leg expression is another thing to look up online, although it sounded like a wish for something good to happen to me." Finally making it to her car, she found that she was having difficulty with the pedals, not being used to driving while wearing heels. The easiest solution was to take them off, shove them underneath the seat and drive barefoot. Fortunately, she remembered to put them back on after finding a convenient space in the Orion parking lot.

-o-

The receptionist looked up from her computer and saw a tall blonde heading towards the front desk. "Good morning. How may I help you?"

"Good morning," the blonde replied politely. "I have an appointment for a job interview. My name is Sarah Walker."

"May I see some ID, please?"

"Certainly." Sarah took her driver's license from her purse and handed it over.

"Everything is in order. Please sign here and then take one of the elevators to the top floor. Once there, ask for directions to Mrs. Bartowski's office."

"Thank you."

"Good luck with your interview."

Following the directions the receptionist and a helpful accountant had given her, Sarah was finally standing in front of Mary Bartowski's inner office door, having been told by a secretary to go right in, as she was already expected. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in."

"Thank you for replying to my job application so quickly, Mrs. Bartowski."

"There are not many candidates for the position you're applying for, so it just worked fine for the both of us. Please, take a seat. From what I see in your application, you already have some experience in marketing."

"It was mostly for small businesses, including the one run by my parents."

"And what might that be?"

"They operated a motel with a diner, gas station and small store." It was close enough to the truth. The inn run by her parents did serve meals in a separate hall, had a store and also provided for travelers' horses and/or other draft animals.

"Despite your relative lack of experience, I have a feeling you'll do well, Ms. Walker. I also checked to see if your references were genuine, which they were. Not long ago I had to reject a candidate who'd lied about his background."

"I understand."

"Glad you think so."

They talked a little longer about what the job entailed. Mary was finding Sarah's answers and comments most satisfactory. Then, Sarah remembered something. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Are you in any way related to one Chuck Bartowski? I met him yesterday and he told me to apply for a job with Orion. He said he knew about the opening because he works here."

Mary smiled. "Chuck is my son and he's also Vice President of Product Development. And I believe he did a great job, sending you here. Your references tell me that you are hardworking, honest and eager. So, congratulations. You are hired for the mandatory probationary period, at the end of which your performance will be evaluated and if found satisfactory you'll be offered a permanent position with the company."

"Thank you Mrs. Bartowski," Sarah said. She wouldn't have to get a job at a Wienerlicious or an Orange Orange (she'd seen the help wanted ads at the Buy More Plaza and she kept them in mind as a last resort).

"I forgot to mention one thing: your first week here will be devoted to orientation under the guidance of the Division Director and his assistants. I suggest you go down there and get a schedule." Mary gave Sarah a piece of paper with directions to her new workplace.

"Of course, thank you." Sarah turned to leave.

"Watch out!" Mary's warning came too late. The door was already opening as Sarah was still focused on reading the directions. She looked sharply up, but could not avoid colliding with someone, who was carrying a few boxes obstructing his view forward. He stumbled backwards a few steps, while Sarah bounced off of him, lost her balance – the three inch heels did not exactly help – and ended up falling on the couch. She had tried to grab on the vertical stainless steel shaft of a light post for support, but all she'd managed to do was not end up on the floor.

Mary was up in a flash, running to see if anyone was hurt. Chuck, for he was the one coming in, set the boxes down on the floor and saw Sarah sprawled on his mother's office couch, rubbing her forehead.

"Sarah, are you all right?" He knelt by the couch and carefully brushed a couple of golden strands aside to see if she'd been injured.

"I'm fine," Sarah replied. "I just bumped my head against your boxes."

"Well, I apologize."

"I too should have been more careful, Chuck."

"There is no bruising and you don't have a bump," he informed her, gently running his fingers along her hairline.

"Speaking of bumps, we have to stop bumping into each other, Chuck."

He laughed. "We really do. By the way, did you get the job?"

"I got the job," she confirmed with a smile. "Thank you for recommending it to me."

"Since you are both all right, there is no reason to worry," Mary said, offering a hand to help Sarah stand up. She took it and Mary pulled her upright. "What did you want, Chuck?"

"I brought you the samples we are going to send to magazines and sites for review and their packaging for approval, Mom."

"Just leave them over there. In the meantime, I suggest you give Ms. Walker here the grand tour."

"It will be my pleasure. Sarah, do you feel up to it?"

"Yes," Sarah replied without hesitation.

First of all, Chuck showed her around the executive floor, since she would be coming up there quite often. The tour of the rest of the Orion building was just as interesting. He deliberately left the division she was going to be working in for last.

"This is one of the software production lines," he told her, showing her around a very spacious area at ground level. The hardware and some software are made in our plant just outside of LA, but when we found that we needed to expand software production we set up a facility here. It also includes a small warehouse, from where the finished products are shipped out."

"Amazing," she said, picking up a DVD. It was the Orion Universal Document Manager, a version of which she already had installed in her computer.

Would you like to visit the showroom, too?"

"Showroom?" Sarah queried.

"Come on." He took her hand and led her to the front of the building, where the company showcased its various products. "You'll be coming down here a lot, showing potential customers both hardware and software."

"You still haven't showed me where I'll be working."

"The omission will be rectified immediately," he said. Soon, after a stop at Human Resources and Security to register her as an Orion employee and get her an access card, they were on the eighth floor. There, he introduced her to a Mr. Watkins, the division head. Together they showed her to a spacious cubicle, more like a small office, and Watkins gave her the initial schedule. Looking at his watch, Chuck was amazed to see how time had flown by. "Care for some lunch, Sarah? We have an excellent cafeteria here."

"Why not?" She followed him to the terraced second floor, more than half of which was taken up by a well equipped and tastefully decorated cafeteria. Many employees were either sitting enjoying their lunch or queuing to get it. Chuck made small talk with several people and then he and Sarah joined the queue. "This is a nice place," she commented."

"Mom and Dad are firm believers in a pleasant working environment. Would you like to take a table here or outside on the terrace?"

"Let's take a table on the terrace."

When they finally got settled, he raised his soda. "To a long and productive career at Orion for you, Sarah," he toasted.

"Thank you. To a harmonious cooperation," she replied.

"Hear, hear. But this is a bit lacking as a celebration, Sarah."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Um, you just got back to LA, and you found a good job. I believe the occasion called for something rather better, like dinner out."

"This will do nicely, Chuck. Besides, I have good company. And meeting you turned out to be extremely fortuitous. I was seriously considering getting a job either at the Wienerlicious or at the Orange Orange."

"You are way more qualified than that, Sarah."

"Yes, I know, but a job is a job, right? I needed to get one."

They spent the lunch hour enjoying the cafeteria's offering and talking. Afterwards, Chuck took her up to her new workplace and left her in the capable hands of Mr. Watkins. Now, all he had to do was screw up the courage to ask her out to dinner. Maybe he'd give her some space first and do it the following day.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I really hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. It's really fun to write, since this is my first story where humor is the dominant element. You should get quite a few laughs from this chapter. As always, thank you all for your unwavering support.

* * *

Chuck poured his wife some juice. She'd been speaking non-stop for a while and he had guessed that her throat must have been truly parched. A break in the story telling was in order. He handed the glass to her and she smiled gratefully. As she took a sip, both she and her husband stole a look at their children. Jason and Samantha were obviously enjoying hearing about how their parents had met. Rex got up from beside Sam and went to find a cooler space on the floor. Lucy stretched, purred and mewed before going to have some kitty kibble washed down with some milk. She would return and cuddle with her biped housemates afterwards.

Finally, Jason spoke up. "Mom, I see that the spell you cast gave you all the skills you needed to survive in the modern world, but you were still completely ignorant of modern expressions and pop culture."

"I noticed it too," Sam agreed. "Did you do something wrong when casting the spell?"

"No, I followed the instructions for the spell to a T," Sarah said. The cold pineapple orange juice had made her feel a lot better. "But, magic or not, there were some things I had to figure out by myself. Also, having full knowledge about this world would have required a lot of extra energy, which no witch or wizard possesses. One can't have everything, you know. It would be too easy that way."

"But is it doable?" Sam insisted.

"Getting everything right would take at least two," Sarah replied. "And I was totally alone. Besides, learning about this new – to me – world the way I did, was fun, a lot of the time."

"How did you do it?" Jason asked.

"Actually, your father's reaction to seeing me for the first time helped. The first chance I got, I looked up Batman and Vicky Vale online, since I had no idea what they meant. This alone made me realize that I still had a lot to learn about this wonderful new world I'd found myself in."

"So, your survival skills helped you adapt without having to worry about making a living," Sam hazarded.

"They helped," Sarah admitted. "The next step was a little more old-fashioned. Would you like to hear about it?"

"You don't even have to ask, Mom."

"When she told me the story, I found it very entertaining," Chuck said. "So will you. Go ahead, love."

"Okie-dokie. I was on my way home from the first day on the job at your grandparents' company when I realized that covering up my ignorance of modern speech mannerisms and so on would not be as easy as it had been in the morning. Fortunately, I am quite observant. I remembered seeing something in the bookstore I had purchased an LA business directory from when I first arrived to the city. It was a book on colloquialisms and slang, very scientific, but with a healthy measure of humor interjected by the authors. I drove back to the bookstore and bought it and a couple of 'For Dummies' books, plus a cookbook. All proved to be very useful, both immediately and in the long run."

"Also, did you really meet one of Uncle John's ancestors, Mom? The Sir John Casey you told us about?" Jason inquired.

"Sir John looked just like John, yes. He was a very good friend of my family. He and Dad went back a long way."

"It also explains why he and Grandpa became such good friends," Sam stated.

"He helped save my life and as Dad saw that John is just as good a man as his ancestor was, he liked him even more."

"I would like to learn more about Lady Gertrude, Mom. From what you said, she sounds like one hell of a woman."

"She was," Sarah said, remembering the noblewoman she knew so well. "She was just as nice as Kathleen is. I'll tell you more about her sometime."

"Sam and I were talking," Jason said. "I know it sounds cliché, but it's kind of a stereotype we grew up on, so… do you fly around on a broom?"

Sarah looked at Chuck and they both laughed. "I do have a flying broom," Sarah finally said. "It's the old one I keep in the supply closet."

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed. "You're hiding it virtually in plain sight. You have to let me try it someday."

"The next time we go to the cabin in Bishop, the broom is yours," her mother promised.

"Sarah had it with her the first time we went on vacation there together," Chuck said, remembering that memorable first vacation.

"Of course, I had to tell him everything about me, as I believe in honesty as part of an intimate relationship. He did freak out a little at first, but he thought it was awesome."

"She gave me my first ride on her broom back then, too," Chuck added. "In a way, it was like riding a motorcycle."

"Well, you gave me my first motorcycle ride, so I guess we are even," Sarah said. She turned to her children. "Your father also taught me how to drive a motorcycle. Anyway, does anyone want a late dinner?"

The answer was unanimously yes… from Rex, too. Sarah got up and went to the kitchen to make dinner. Chuck offered to help while the kids set the table.

"Mom, when are you going to let me read the book you keep mentioning?" Sam asked while she was taking plates out of a cupboard.

"Soon, darling," Sarah replied. "We are going to have a mother-daughter day and I'll tell you a few things about being a witch."

"Witch's honor?" Sam asked, placing the index and middle fingers of one hand on either side of the nose with fingertips pointing toward the eyes.

"Witch's honor," Sarah promised, also giving the same sign, the very sign of the pledge made famous by Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead in Bewitched. Samantha laughed and hugged her mother.

-o-

Dinner turned out to be a very pleasant affair for the Bartowski family, as usual. Sarah did not continue her story while they were at the table, but promised to do so later. Not wanting to bother with the dishes, Chuck and Jason asked the two witches in the family to take care of the matter the easy way. They promised to make dessert in return.

"This is surprisingly good," Sam said after the first bite of dessert.

"Surprisingly?" Chuck feigned being hurt.

"Daggers to the heart," Jason added theatrically, crossing his hands over his heart.

"Before I met your father, I considered myself a serviceable cook. I was learning by my Mom's side, but Chuck and Ellie made me even better."

"Mom, didn't you ever learn not to over-inflate male egos? Surely, the principle must apply to the sixteenth century as well as the twenty-first. And we have to keep these two grounded."

Chuck laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair.

"DAD! Not the hair!" Sam protested and proceeded to put her blond tresses back into some semblance of order.

"Coffee and juice anyone?" Sarah queried when all had finished their dessert.

"I'd love some coffee," Chuck said. "Kids, would you like some more juice?"

"Sure, thanks Mom," Jason eagerly accepted the offer. A big glass of juice materialized in front of him, with another appearing in front of his sister. Likewise, Chuck and Sarah now each had a nice cup of coffee to enjoy.

"Are you up for some more history?" Sarah asked, following Chuck to the love seat.

The kids merely returned to their previous positions, Sam on the beanbag and Jason on the recliner.

"Yes they are," Chuck remarked. "Honey, we're all ears."

"You have heard the story before. And you were there for most of it."

"I have, but it never gets boring." *loving kiss*

Cue mock disgust from the kids: "Ew."

-o-

Sarah's first day at work involved not only the tour of the facility, but also a lot of reading. The volume of the latter was considerable, especially since the Sales Division had recently been sort of merged with Marketing, PR and Advertising. On paper, they were still separate divisions, but in reality they operated as one unit. It was one of Mary Bartowski's ideas and apparently it was working just fine.

It was almost three in the afternoon when another employee approached Sarah. "Excuse me, Ms. Walker, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," Sarah replied. "What is it about?"

"I have a customer on the line and he's complaining that we sent the wrong merchandise. I am not authorized to handle such matters and you seem to be available."

"Put him through," Sarah said with an understanding smile. As it turned out, the mistake had been made by the customer himself, as he'd written the wrong product number on the order form. Sarah informed him of the fact, much to his mortification. But since his company was an important customer of Orion, she politely asked him to wait a little until she saw if they had sufficient quantities of the correct items in stock. With the help of the other employee, plus Mr. Watkins who'd just happened to pass by and hear about the issue, it was all resolved in no time.

Inevitably, news of it reached the ears of Stephen and Mary Bartowski. And since customer satisfaction was paramount, they were quite impressed by the way the matter had been handled, especially by an employee on her first day on the job.

-o-

The following morning, Sarah got to work bright and early. She clocked in and immediately went to her station, where she got started on learning more about what her job entailed. She'd also begun to give a personal touch to her workspace. A crystal ball paper weight, a rainbow colored slinky, a small collage made of postcards from LA and San Diego, plastic gardenias, a letter opener shaped like a sword, plus a copy of the family picture she'd made the other day brightened up the hitherto generic cubicle.

In his office, Chuck was working on refining his latest creation. He was a Professional Nerd and proud of it, so he was an incorrigible perfectionist when it came to designing and building hardware or writing software. Of course, it was too early in the day for chardonnay, so he fell back on his backup thinking juice: coffee. As he took a sip, his mind wandered to the amazing girl just a few floors down: Sarah Walker. He really had to work up the courage to ask her out. He had a feeling that she wouldn't exactly shoot him down in flames if he did.

"No guts no glory, buddy," he muttered and got up. Gulping down the rest of his coffee, he saved his work and made tracks for the elevators. When he got to marketing, Sarah was not there. Not wanting to invade her privacy, he only gave a cursory look at the desk and its surrounding area. And he definitely liked what he was seeing.

"Are you looking for Ms. Walker, Chuck?" Watkins asked.

"Yep. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"She went down to storage. She wanted to oversee a shipment."

"Is it about the screw-up with the Montgomery deal?"

"You heard?"

"Hell, everyone knows about it by now. Pretty impressive, considering that yesterday was her first day here and she's still learning the ropes. It definitely got her some attention upstairs."

"She's dedicated and very eager, I'll give her that."

"I'll go look for her."

The storage and shipping area in the Orion administration building was not as big as the warehouse adjoining the main production facility, but it wasn't small, either. Sarah, as expected, was there, clipboard and pen in her hands, giving instructions to a couple of cargo handlers.

"Hey Sarah, I hope I'm not interrupting," he greeted her.

"No, not at all, we're almost done here," she replied. At that moment, the load of a pallet being pulled from a shelf by a forklift snagged on something, ripped the plastic wrapping around it and the boxes cascaded down,

"Look out!" Chuck warned an employee.

Sarah didn't hesitate. A wave of her hand and the load from the pallet dropped on the concrete floor away from the stunned man who'd been standing nearby.

"Are you OK?" Chuck asked, running to him.

"Uh, yeah, sure. This wasn't even close. Thanks for asking, boss."

"I'm glad you're fine. But damn, what a mess," Chuck said, running a hand through his curls.

"At least the load wasn't anything fragile," Sarah said, inspecting the spilled contents of a box. "Here," she tossed Chuck something. He caught it and saw that it was a rubber and plastic protective casing for Orion smart phones, of the kind the firm sold separately as an aftermarket accessory.

"The total weight could have still done some damage," Chuck remarked and turned to the cargo handler. "You were really lucky, man."

"I'd say it was closer to a miracle than just dumb luck, but I'm not going to dwell on it any more than it takes to clean up the mess."

"Looks like the pallet's wrapping snagged on the corner of the shelf up there," Sarah said. She was privately thankful that no one had noticed her use of magic to save the cargo handler. "And some boxes will need to be repacked."

"I'll take care of everything," the other man assured her.

Another man approached them and cleared his throat to get their attention. "Ms. Walker, we got the original shipment back and the correct items are now loaded on the truck."

"Do you need me to sign off on anything?"

"Yes, it's this amended shipping order."

"All right. Here you go." Then she turned to Chuck. "Did you need me for anything before this mess happened?"

"Um, well, I wanted to congratulate you on the way you handled the mess with the Montgomery deal. He's an important customer and you did great."

"He tried to court me over the phone first and then on the videoconference link," Sarah said. "He's lucky to be such an important customer."

"He's a hound, all right."

"A what?"

"A ladies' man, a lothario, a horndog, a womanizer, a philanderer," Chuck said.

_I really have to pick up speed reading the slang book_, Sarah thought. Aloud, she said: "I wasn't sure I heard you right."

"Considering what we just talked about, I hope you won't take what I'm about to say next the wrong way."

"Chuck, you are nothing like Roan Montgomery."

"OK then." He took a deep breath and then took the plunge. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me some day."

"Go out?"

"Yes, for dinner, then maybe get a groove on at a club…"

Fortunately, she understood what getting the groove on meant, having already read about it. "Sure," she said. "I'd love to. When would you like to schedule it for?"

"Is tomorrow too soon?" Chuck ventured. His luck was holding, so he decided to test its limits.

"Tomorrow will be just fine," Sarah replied. "Pick me up at seven. You know my address."

-o-

"Hold on, Mom," Sam interrupted. "Dad just asked you out on a date and you said yes without a moment's hesitation?"

"What did I have to lose? I already liked him a lot. In fact… No, I'll tell you about that when the time comes."

"What about you, Dad?" Jason asked.

"Frankly, I was as nervous as I'd been when I asked a girl to be my date to the prom back in high school," Chuck admitted. "But she said yes, so scratch one obstacle."

"I'm sorry for the interruption," Sam said. "Mom, continue the story, please."

Sarah smiled and thought about the night of her and Chuck's first date. Of course, she wasn't about to tell Jason and Samantha every sordid detail of that particular night. It would be too embarrassing.

-o-

"I still have some time before I have to get ready," Sarah mused and decided to take out the trash. She grabbed the trash bag, tied it off and went to the common room at the end of the corridor where the garbage chute was. The task was completed quickly, but when she went back to her apartment, the door was closed. A draft must have closed it. "Bugger," she swore after trying to open it and failing. There she was, in the corridor, locked out of her apartment, dressed only in a pair of (relatively modest, as they didn't show too much cheek) boy shorts and a camisole. And she was running out of time, as Chuck would be coming soon to pick her up for their date. She couldn't exactly call the doorman to get her a spare key, considering her minimal attire. "Damn," she cursed her bad luck and lack of forethought.

She pulled a bobby pin from her hair and tried to pick the lock, like she'd seen it done in a movie. Fortunately, there was no one around to see her in her current state. And then she mentally slapped herself as she realized something she'd forgotten in the initial panic: she could open the door without picking the lot – just by using some magic. She pointed a finger at the lock and twirled it. It came open just like that. Sarah ran inside to get dressed for the evening out with Chuck.

Not long later, Chuck exited the elevator carrying a bouquet of gardenias. He knew Sarah liked them from his last visit to her cubicle. He found apartment 832 and knocked.

Sarah saw him through the peephole and opened the door. "Hi Chuck. Don't just stand there, come in. I'm almost ready and you're a bit early. Would you like a drink while you wait?"

"I'll take a soda, if you have one. These are for you, by the way." He handed her the gardenias.

"They are beautiful, thank you." She'd loved gardenias since she'd first seen them right after arriving in LA. "I'll put these in a vase and get you your soda." She didn't have an empty vase, but stooped behind the kitchen counter, opened a cupboard – for show – and made a beautiful Murano vase appear. The flowers were placed in it. She was soon back with a soda for him and also set the vase down on a corner table. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just be a moment. Just make yourself at home."

"By all means," he said and sat down on the couch.

Sarah quickly took care of her makeup, gathered up her hair in a messy bun which she skewered with two long pins and grabbed her purse. Chuck had just about finished his soda when she exited the bedroom.

"Let's go," she said.

They were almost at the door when he noticed something. "I'll be the first to say that you look amazing tonight, but I think you've forgotten something?"

"Huh?"

"Are you planning to go outside the apartment with no shoes on?"

"What? Oh, rats! Hold on." She ran into the bedroom and hurriedly pulled on socks and a nice pair of boots. A last check to see if she'd had forgotten anything and she grabbed her purse before rejoining Chuck in the living room. "OK, now I'm ready."

"Shall we?" He offered her his arm.

"Of course," she smiled and looped her arm through his.

-o-

Chuck looked at Sarah. "You never told me about being locked out of your place before I came to pick you up."

"And to think that I tried at first to pick the lock with a bobby pin, before it came to me to use magic and be done with it." Then she leaned in closer and whispered in her husband's ear. "I was locked out of the apartment in my underwear. But I couldn't exactly tell the kids that. You understand."

He hugged her closer to him. "I understand, all right," he whispered back.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Jason asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, young Mr. Bartowski," Sarah replied curtly.

"I'll say it's probably something embarrassing and most likely rated at least PG-13, so I don't want to hear anything about it."

"Me neither," his sister agreed.

Right then Rex came to them with his leash between his teeth and pawed at Chuck's knee, while giving him a pleading look. Chuck petted the dog. "I think he wants to go for a walk. Sarah, would you like to join us?"

"Sure. I'll just go get my sneakers." She turned to her children. "I expect you both to behave until we get back… especially you, young lady."

"Why is it always me you are giving warnings to?" Sam complained.

"Because you are exactly like me," Sarah deadpanned and winked at Sam.

Jason laughed. "Take that, sis."

"Shut up before I turn you into a toad," she growled, annoyed.

"I'm not afraid of you, Sam."

"Don't tempt me."

"Quiet," Sarah commanded. "Didn't you promise to be responsible in the use of witchcraft, Sam?"

"Can't I have an exception?"

"No. In any case, you don't have the training or the level of powers required to transform someone. And as your mother, I can take away your powers any time I want."

"I'll be good, Mom," Sam promised solemnly.

"You'd better. We'll be back soon." She went to put her sneakers on and then she, Chuck and Rex left for the park.

"Can you really take Sam's powers away?" Chuck asked her as soon as they were out the door.

"Yes, I can block them but it would be only temporary."

"Let's keep it as a last resort, shall we?"

"I see we're on the same page here," Sarah said and held lovingly on to Chuck as they walked the dog.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Twisting canon scenes around to fit this AU and spicing them up is real fun. I hope you'll be enjoying this chapter as much as those that preceded it.

* * *

A few hours before Chuck's date with Sarah…

"Morgan! Morgan, are you in there?" Chuck asked, standing at the open door of his best friend's office.

"I'm right behind you," Morgan replied. He'd just exited the bathroom when he heard Chuck calling his name. "You sound like you have an emergency."

"Damn right I have an emergency."

Morgan knew this tone very well. "Come in and take a seat, my friend. The Doctor of Love will listen to you."

Chuck made himself comfortable on the couch and looked at Morgan, who picked up a pen and notepad. "Yesterday, I asked Sarah out. She said yes. I'm picking up tonight at seven."

"Hold on. She said yes, so what's the problem?"

"What do you think?"

"Ah, you're looking for a nice place to take her to."

"Pretty much, yes," Chuck admitted. "She did great with handling the order for Montgomery's company, so she deserves a nice night out and more."

"Let me put your mind at ease, Chuck. I know a great Tex-Mex place, not far from Echo Park. It's new and off the beaten track, so it shouldn't be too crowded." He scribbled the restaurant's address on the top page of his notepad. "Come to think of it, you'll need to take her for drinks and dancing afterwards. I can direct you to a suitable club."

"Much obliged, little buddy," Chuck said.

"I'm not through with you yet. Get up."

"Huh? Why?"

"It's three thirty and you're picking her up at seven, right?"

"Yes," Chuck began, but Morgan cut him off.

"We have to get you ready for your date. You're coming with me. Let's take your car. We're going to your place."

"How are you going to get home if we take my car and leave yours here?"

"I have my bicycle at your place. Besides, I can come over tomorrow morning and you'll give me a lift to the office."

"You have everything planned, don't you?"

"Why do you think Mrs. B has put me in charge of logistics?"

As Morgan was dragging Chuck to the elevators, they met Stephen and Mary Bartowski in the hallway.

"Going somewhere, guys?" Stephen asked them.

"I'm taking Chuck home. He has a date to get ready for, Mr. B."

"A date? Aces, Charles; you're Aces."

"Thanks Dad."

"Who are you meeting?" Mary asked.

"None other than the ravishing Ms. Sarah Walker," Morgan replied for Chuck.

"As in the Sarah Walker who works for us?"

"The same," Morgan nodded.

"What happened to your own rule about office romances, Chuck? You must really like her."

"I, um… well… Sarah is… special, unique. I sorta knew it from the moment I laid eyes on her the other day in the Buy More… But it'll be mostly business." No one believed him.

"Oh well, you don't want to be late for your date," Mary said. She was an excellent judge of characters and she was sure she'd judged the young woman right during the job interview. And everything told her that Sarah Walker was a fine young lady. "Off you go and have fun."

"Thanks Mom."

Morgan's enthusiasm did not slacken a bit during the drive to Echo Park. After Chuck parked the car, Morgan pulled him out of the driver's seat and pushed him towards his apartment. They met Chuck's sister and her boyfriend in the courtyard. They'd just arrived after a shift in the hospital where they both worked.

"You're home early," Ellie said suspiciously. "And you look a little flushed. Morgan, is he all right?"

"He's fine. He's just nervous because he's got a date tonight."

The Greek takeaway dropped from Ellie's suddenly lifeless fingers, but fortunately Devon caught the package before it crashed on the ground. "Way to go, Chuckster," he said when he straightened up. "This is awesome."

Ellie regained her senses. "What are you going to wear?"

"This sounds like your department, Ellie," Morgan said. "You can help him choose something to make him irresistible to Sarah."

"Is that her name?"

"Yes. She works for Orion and in fact she's new there, but already making a name for herself."

"Could she be the girl you told us about the other day, when you asked Mom if a position had been filled?"

"She's the same girl," Chuck confirmed.

"When are you going to meet her?"

"I'm picking her up from her place at seven."

"Then we don't have much time. Let's go find you something nice to wear. Devon…"

"Everything will be ready for dinner by the time you're through with the Chuckster."

"OK then. Follow me, little brother."

-o-

"With Uncle Morgan and Aunt Ellie by your side, your date must have been great," Sam said.

"It was great," Sarah agreed, snuggling closer to Chuck.

"You didn't by any chance go to the same Tex-Mex place you went for your anniversary dinner and you also take us to on occasion?"

"Yes son, it's the same place. What? You like it."

"I didn't say anything, Dad."

"Tell us about the date," Sam urged.

"As expected, your father was the perfect gentleman. He drove us to the restaurant, picked a table not too close to the band and even pulled a chair out for me. He also ordered for both of us, which was good. I mean, I like a take charge man on dates, but I also knew zilch about Mexican cuisine. I have to say, though, the burrito was sinful."

"Everything is delicious there, Mom," Jason reminded her.

"Yes, I know, but the guacamole, the nachos and said burrito were my introduction to Mexican food, so it's not something I'm bound to forget. I also resolved to stock Corona in my fridge and learn how to make Margaritas back then."

"Cool. Now, let's hear about the rest of the infamous first date night."

"Well, here goes…"

-o-

Sarah couldn't believe how lucky she was to have met Chuck. Unknowingly, the man was the perfect guide to show her how to navigate the 21st century, at least until she learned to do it by herself. Right now he was telling her more about his family, spiced up with funny factoids about him, his sister and his parents.

"And then Captain Awesome challenged me to bench the Nerd me and unleash my inner reckless self, as he phrased it. And I did it… Of course, wanting to impress a girl had a lot to do with it, but I went ahead and literally took the plunge."

"Wow. And how was it?"

"Let me tell you, it was amazing. Awesome even captured it on video. I still have the recording."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Everything he does is awesome; jumping out of planes, climbing mountains, bungee jumping, rafting, flossing… The guy likes to live on the edge. Thanks to his influence, and the jury is still out on whether it was good or bad, I even learned to drive a motorcycle."

"I haven't had that much fun in ages, Chuck."

"I have it on good authority that I am a funny guy."

"Clearly, I'll have to agree. And it's good, because I'm not funny."

"Well, I hope not being funny is the only thing wrong with you, Sarah. All evening I was thinking that either she's not funny or she's a cannibal."

"A cannibal?" Sarah echoed. "Where did that come from? Rest assured, Chuck, I'm not a cannibal. Far from it, in fact," she added. _But I am something else entirely and I don't know how you'll react if you ever find out about it_, she thought. Indeed, how could she tell him about her being a witch from the 16th century? Or even keep him from freaking out monumentally (to use his words) once she conclusively proved it to him? For the moment she was content to munch her way through the delicious burrito the waiter had brought her.

After dinner they decided to take a short walk and give the spicy goodness they'd had a chance to settle down. They were both enjoying it. The lights, the traffic and even the noise of the city at night were a nice backdrop.

"Chuck, where are we going?"

"I learned of a nice club nearby, Sarah. I think you'll like it, especially if you like the band playing tonight."

"To tell you the truth, I don't know much about music, Chuck."

"You're kidding me! What's your favorite band? You should have a favorite band."

"Alas, I don't have one. I guess I never dabbled seriously into the matter."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Well, at least I'm positive you will find the one playing at the club pretty good."

"I trust your judgment," she said simply.

She really liked the club. Granted, the music wasn't what she'd been used to until then, but it was certainly something she could get used to. When Chuck went to get the drinks, she relaxed in the comfortable cushions of her chair and watched the couples dancing on the stage. She wanted to familiarize herself with the way people danced in this era, so she wouldn't appear completely ignorant in case Chuck asked her to dance.

"Here you go, Sarah, one Southern Comfort," Chuck said, handing her a glass.

She took a tentative sip. It tasted good. "Thanks. What are you having?"

"Since I'll be driving later, I only opted for a beer," he replied.

"Good choice," she agreed.

"To you," he said and clinked her glass with his beer bottle. "May you keep up the good job."

"Thank you, Chuck. Here's to us and a long and fruitful cooperation."

They sipped their drinks in silence for a while, until he managed to ask her to dance with him. She readily agreed.

"I have to warn you, I'm not a good dancer," she stated.

"Me neither, but I have a feeling we'll do this without stepping on each other's toes."

By the time the piece ended, they'd managed to avoid any accidents. Then they returned to their seats, talked a little more and finished their drinks. It was getting a bit late and they both had to go to work the following morning, so Sarah suggested that they called it a night. He agreed and after a short walk to where he'd parked the car they were on the way to the Maison 23. The route would take them near Chuck's place.

-o-

"What now?" Chuck complained when the engine sputtered.

"Chuck, I think you're out of gas." She tapped the fuel gauge, whose needle was pegged on empty.

"I don't believe this!" All the planning for a great evening, which until then had been indeed fantastic, and he'd forgotten such a trivial detail as filling up the car. He hadn't even noticed the warning light flashing on the dash, because it was hidden behind a carelessly tossed box of breath mints, of all things. "I should have been more careful."

"Things like this happen, Chuck," she tried to comfort him.

"Not to me, they don't. At least we're almost at my place."

"What are you suggesting?"

"You get behind the wheel. I'll push the car to my parking spot and then I'll borrow my sister's car to get you home."

"Sounds workable," she agreed and moved into the driver's seat as soon as he exited the car. He gave her directions and began pushing. The distance they had to cover was less than a hundred feet and there was no traffic in the area.

Sarah had just parked the car and gotten out when suddenly a bolt of lightning lit up the night sky, immediately followed by a deafening roll of thunder. And then the rain came. They were both drenched in seconds, before they could even think to get back inside the car. Sarah yelped. Chuck grabbed her hand and led her running to his apartment.

"Now that was some rainstorm," Chuck laughed.

"Yes and we are soaked through."

"I'll go get us some towels."

Ellie had seen them run in the rain towards his apartment. And since hers was an adjoining one, as the previous owner had cut a door between the two apartments, she ran to see if they needed anything.

"You look like a drowned rat, Chuck," she remarked. "And you must be Sarah. I'm Ellie, Chuck's sister."

"It's nice to meet you," Sarah said politely. "Chuck has told me many wonderful things about you." The two women shook hands.

"You are about my size, Sarah. I'll go get you a change of clothes. You must not be very comfortable right now. Great outfit, by the way."

"Thanks." She turned to Chuck after Ellie went back to her apartment. "She's really very nice."

"Yes she is."

"You were saying something about getting us towels, Chuck."

"Oh right. I'll just be a sec." True to his word, he was back almost immediately with several towels, some of which he handed over to Sarah. At that moment, Ellie came back with dry underwear, a shirt, a pair of jeans, socks and sneakers for Sarah.

"Here you go," she said. "You have a choice between the bathroom and the guest room to change."

"Thank you. I think I'll go to the bathroom," Sarah said.

"It's down the hallway, the last door to the right," Chuck told her. "I'll be in my room."

"I'll make you both some tea," Ellie offered. "You look like you need it."

Chuck was the first to rejoin Ellie in the kitchen. He still had a towel around his neck and was using it to finish drying his hair. Sarah came from the bathroom just a couple of minutes later. Ellie had some caramel tea ready and she offered each of them a mug.

"So," Ellie began the interrogation. "How did you two end up here?"

Chuck eyed her suspiciously. She could be angling for something juicy, like finding that Chuck and Sarah had been planning to spend the night together. In any case, he decided to tell his sister the truth. "I was taking Sarah home and going through the Echo Park area was the shortest route. The car ran out of gas after I turned into Franklin Street."

"You ran out of gas?" Ellie repeated incredulously.

"Um, yes?"

"Then you should take the car to the shop and have it checked."

"No, it wasn't the car's fault. Morgan kept feeding me breath mints all afternoon. Somehow, the box ended up on the dash, hiding the fuel gauge. I also thought that I had enough gas left after the trips back and forth between the office and the factory a few days ago, so I didn't give it another thought."

"Well, even if you had gas, you'd still have been forced to stop here. The rain isn't letting up and driving in those conditions isn't exactly the best thing. So sit down, enjoy your tea and wait until it blows over. I'll be next door if you need anything."

"Ellie, thanks again for the clothes," Sarah said.

"You're welcome," the brunette smiled and left Chuck and Sarah alone.

"I'm going to put my clothes in your dryer," Sarah informed Chuck. "You do have a dryer, right?"

"Yes and it sounds like a good idea. In fact, I'll throw mine in with yours." He went to his room and gathered up his wet clothes, while Sarah did the same in the bathroom. Soon, both sets were in the dryer.

"It's still raining… and it's raining even harder," Sarah remarked, looking out a window.

"Sooner or later it's going to stop. Would you like some more tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I can put something stronger in it, if you like." He held up a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a bottle of brandy in the other.

"Some brandy will do just fine," she said.

"Okie-dokie. Would you like to watch TV, just to pass the time?"

"Do I have anything better to do?"

"I thought so."

They sat on the couch, Chuck picked up the remote and began channel surfing. Eventually they agreed on watching a comedy. Ellie found them both asleep on the couch about an hour and a half later. Sarah was slumped half on top of Chuck, while he was sprawled out forming a pillow of sorts for her.

Ellie struggled with herself for a minute before moving to wake them up. She could have left them in peace, but they'd be sore in the morning. "Chuck, Sarah, wake up."

"Huh? What time is it?" Chuck queried.

"You both fell asleep watching TV. I think you'd be more comfortable in a real bed."

"If you say so," he yawned. Next to him, Sarah was rubbing her eyes.

"For the record, I was quite comfortable," she said sleepily.

"A bed should be far more comfortable than my brother and the couch. Here, take a pair of pajamas. Traffic is still chaotic out there, but the situation will get better in the morning, according to the news."

"There is nothing you can't think of, sis," Chuck said admiringly.

"I hope not. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Ellie," Chuck and Sarah chorused.

Once they were alone again, Chuck resumed the role of the perfect host. "Let me show you the guest room." He'd loved the feeling of her body on top of his, but he was also kind of old fashioned. After all, it hadn't exactly been a romantic kind of date and he wanted to respect her, too. So, he led her to the guest room. "If you need anything, my room is next door."

"Thank you Chuck. You've already done so much for me tonight, I can't ask for anything more."

-o-

"That was some first date," Jason remarked.

"With hindsight, it was. Of course, at the time neither your mother nor I considered it a date-date. It was more of a welcome-to-the-company-and-congratulations-on-a-job-well-done date."

"Mom, why didn't you fill up Dad's car, instead of letting it run out of gas?" Sam queried.

"I didn't know, Sam," Sarah replied. "Had I known, I'd definitely have done something about it, to keep the car going at least until the following morning. But after it ran out of gas, I couldn't do anything without risking exposure. You understand, right?"

"Sure I do, Mom."

"At least your relationship had a great beginning," Jason said.

"It wasn't all smooth sailing," Chuck informed him. "Like every couple, we did have our ups and downs."

"Admittedly, one of the downs, the very first one in fact, was the result of a huge misunderstanding," Sarah said.

"Are you talking about…?"

"Yes… it wasn't my finest hour, but you have to understand, witch or not, I'm a human being and irrational jealousy is a human emotion."

"Hold on, Mom. You were jealous? What happened? Dad couldn't have done anything to hurt you."

"Sam, like I said, it was all a huge misunderstanding. The fact that we both were up to our eyeballs in work didn't exactly help, either."

"Sarah, it's getting kind of late. We should tell the kids about the incident you're referring to tomorrow," Chuck suggested.

"Just tell us what happened in the morning, before we call it a night," Sam practically begged her parents.

"Should we tell them?" Sarah asked Chuck.

"Yes you should," Jason came in support of his sister.

"Let's tell them," Chuck acquiesced. Sarah nodded, so he continued. "You know what a sleepyhead your Mom is, right?" Sarah elbowed him in the ribs as the kids nodded and laughed. "Oof!" He glared at her, but also smiled. "I went to wake her up after making us some breakfast and calling Morgan to bring a can of gas for the car over."

"Chuck had made coffee and prepared bowls of Fruit Loops before coming to wake me up."

"And now we know how Mom's addiction to Fruit Loops began," Sam teased.

"Yes," she laughed. "I loved them after the first bite. Anyway, Ellie was aware of the woeful state of the pantry in the Bachelor Pad, so she came over bearing gifts, in this case omelets, yogurt, toast, jam, croissants, orange juice and fresh fruit. It was one of the best breakfasts in my life."

"Then what?" Jason urged.

"Then I changed into the outfit Ellie had provided, packed my clothes from the previous night and Chuck drove me to the Maison 23 to change for work."

"OK kids, that's it for tonight," Chuck said. "Off to your rooms."

"G'night," the twins wished their parents and scooted off to their rooms. Rex followed Sam, as he wanted to sleep in her room, while Lucy took off for the master bedroom. Chuck and Sarah shared a kiss while following the cat.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** As you might be expecting, this is about the first misunderstanding between Chuck and Sarah, its resolution, as well as something guaranteed to bring them even closer to each other. Like always, thank you for your support, comments and insights. They are all appreciated and taken into consideration. For now, enjoy Chapter 7.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah didn't get a chance to see much of each other over the next few days. It was meeting after meeting for him and then he would go lock himself in the workshop. As for Sarah, the company was on the verge of releasing a new product and it was all hands on deck for the entire Division. She and Chuck had met only about three or four times in the cafeteria, where they'd attempted to talk over quick lunches.

She came into his office carrying a stack of folders. He looked up and smiled, despite the exhaustion he was feeling. "Hi Sarah."

"Hey Chuck. Mr. Watkins sends these for you." She set the folders down on the desk with a clearly audible thump.

"Ah, excellent. We'll need them for today's meeting."

"Another meeting?"

"What can I say? The company has become a madhouse."

"It's the price to be paid for success," she said philosophically. "By the way, Watkins assigned the promotion of the new 3D rendering program to my section."

"Did he now?"

"And I already had the techs upload it to the showroom machines, so customers can get to see a live demonstration. I also had them make videos of it in use, to add to the promotional packages."

"Is that all?"

"No. I also got a call from a Dr. Woodcomb."

"What did Awesome want?"

"He said that he mentioned something to you about an article for a medical journal…"

"Oh yes, I remember. Did you…?"

"I promised to help in any way necessary."

"Good girl." He browsed through the folders she'd brought and set some aside. "We'll need these for today, but leave the others here."

"Chuck," his mother called from the hallway outside. "We'll be late for the meeting. Come on."

"Duty calls, Sarah." He grabbed the folders and ran towards the conference room. Sarah returned to her desk, where she quickly assembled the package Devon would need for his article. About an hour later, she found something needing Chuck's signature before it could be forwarded to Sales. She looked at her watch. The meeting should be over, so she picked up the papers and headed upstairs.

Chuck wasn't in his office, but she left the folder on his desk and slapped a post-it note on it. She was about to leave when his phone rang. He must have forgotten it there. She hesitated, but picked it up. After all, it could be an important call. Looking at the screen, she saw a woman's face with 'Alex' in the caller ID. "Chuck Bartowski's phone, Sarah Walker speaking."

"Where is Chuck? I need to talk to him."

"Um, he's unavailable right now. Would you like me to pass him a message?"

"OOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW FUCK!" Alex screamed.

"Ma'am, are you all right?"

"No, I'm not all right! My water broke and I'm in labor!"

"I'll go get Chuck!"

"Hurry!"

Sarah was almost out the door when it came to her. Chuck had made another woman pregnant, yet he was courting her? This was completely unacceptable. She'd give him an earful, but after the emergency was dealt with. She knocked on the conference room door and entered. "Excuse me, but there is an emergency Mr. Bartowski needs to attend to." She held up Chuck's phone.

Chuck rose and looked apologetically at the assembled board members. "Excuse me."

"We're almost done here," Stephen said. "We can cover the rest without you. Go."

He followed Sarah to the hallway. "What is it, Sarah?"

"You are about to miss the birth of your child, unless you hurry," she said, the anger clearly discernible in her voice.

"My child?"

"Alex, whoever she is, called. She's in labor."

He began laughing.

"It isn't funny, Mr. Bartowski."

"It kind of is, and you'll soon see why. Wait, did you just say that she's in labor?"

"Yes." She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Then she needs a ride to the hospital, which means that Cole can't make it in time."

Sarah was confused. "Who's Cole?"

"Cole Barker is Alex's husband," Chuck replied. "He must be stuck in traffic. Come on! I don't want my niece to be born on the living room floor or anywhere else in her house." He grabbed Sarah's hand and dragged her to the parking garage.

-o-

"You thought that Dad was already in a relationship?" Jason asked.

"It was the easiest conclusion to arrive to," Sarah admitted. "I know, it was unfair to think so low of him, but I was insanely jealous. Angry, too."

"At first I didn't know why Sarah was so mad at me. It came to me later, while I was driving to pick up Alex and drive her to the Westside Medical. And it got my hopes up for upgrading our relationship from friendship to something even better."

Sam ate another spoonful of the frozen yogurt her parents had brought. "Tell us the rest, Mom."

-o-

Chuck finished the phone call and turned to Sarah, who was in the car with him. "Like I suspected, Cole is stuck in traffic. He'll meet us at the hospital."

"I called Ellie, like you told me. Everything will be ready when we get there with Alex."

"By the way, thank you for coming along."

"You may need help. So, how do you know this Alex? Does she work for Orion?"

"She does, but she's also a second cousin of mine."

Just then, Sarah had an idea. "Shouldn't we let your parents know, too?"

"Damn, you're right. Call Mom. She'll want to be there for the birth of her cousin's granddaughter."

"I'm on it." She found Mary Bartowski's private number in her contacts list. "Mrs. Bartowski, Sarah Walker here. Chuck and I are going to take your niece Alex to the hospital. She's in labor. Yes, we'll be at the Westside Medical. OK. See you there." She turned to Chuck. "Done."

When they reached the Barker residence, Alex answered the door almost the second Chuck knocked. "Hi Chuck." Just then a contraction hit. "CRAP!"

Sarah moved to support her. "Let's get you to the car."

"No need to rush, the contractions are still far apart. Chuck, the bag is by the door. Can you get it for me?"

"Sure. We called Ellie and my parents. They'll all be there soon."

"You are Sarah Walker, right?" Alex asked Sarah.

"Yes I am."

"I recognized your voice. Thanks for coming here with Chuck."

"Alex, I practically kidnapped her from the office and had her come with me."

"Trust me Chuck. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to. Let's get Mrs. Barker to the hospital."

"Alex is fine, Ms. Walker."

"Just call me Sarah."

Alex's phone rang. "Hi honey… yes, Chuck is here and we are on the way. See you there. I love you."

"Was that Cole?" Chuck asked.

"Yep. He's trying to get to the nearest exit and take a less congested route to the hospital. He sounded very relieved to learn that you are already here."

"Come on, Alex. Just lie down on the back seat," Sarah told her, holding the door open.

Many members of the Bartowski and Barker families were soon gathered in a waiting room of the Westside Hospital's maternity ward. Cole had finally arrived and was in the delivery room with his wife. There was a definite buzz of excitement in the air. Chuck approached Sarah, carrying two Styrofoam cups of coffee from a machine down the hallway. "Want some coffee?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I understand why you behaved like you did earlier," he stated.

Sarah chuckled to hide her embarrassment. "Not my finest hour," she admitted.

"Yet it proves that you have values and you stick by them, Sarah. I mean, you thought it was inappropriate of me to appear to, you know…"

"Court me?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"Why appear? Weren't you actually courting me?"

"I value our friendship a lot, Sarah," he said, deciding to hedge. But he definitely wanted to court her and he was going to be a little old fashioned about it. Something told him that she'd appreciate it this way.

"Well, I value our friendship too, Chuck. And I would definitely like to see it develop more. Also… congratulations on becoming an uncle."

"Thanks. Speaking of which, I should probably get my new niece something nice."

"I saw a toy store nearby," Sarah supplied helpfully.

"Of course!" Chuck exclaimed. "Since the hospital has a maternity ward and a children's wing, there is a toy store in the neighborhood. I'd totally forgotten about it. Let's go, Sarah."

The toy store wasn't big, but it offered great variety and excellent quality. Chuck immediately went to the racks holding stuffed toy animals. Since he had a sister, he knew that little girls were partial to those. Sarah, on the other hand, had another idea. They met at the cash register, he holding a stuffed toy dog and she a nice silver rattle.

"Nice," he commented. "It's practical, too."

"I think your niece is going to love what you got her," she said.

Chuck paid first. Behind him, Sarah suddenly remembered that she didn't have her wallet with her. They'd rushed out of the office so fast, she'd forgotten all about it. And it was currently in her purse, on her desk. Well, this wasn't really a problem. After some magic, the wallet was in the inside pocket of her business suit jacket.

They were just entering the waiting room when… "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK I'M DOING? I'M PUSHING AS HARD AS I CAN!"

Sarah sneaked a glance at Chuck. He looked a bit pale. On the other hand, she'd witnessed the birth of a few babies first hand, as her mother was quite adept at being a midwife, among other things, not to mention the baby animals she'd helped her father with. "Are you OK, Chuck?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. Well, my niece is still on the way."

"Doesn't she have a name?"

"Sure she does, but Cole and Alex will tell us when she's out." He'd barely finished the sentence, when a baby's cry was clearly heard coming from the delivery room.

"She's out," Sarah smiled.

"Sounds like it," he agreed.

"And now you are formally an uncle. Congratulations." She gave Chuck a hug.

Cole came out holding a pink wrapped bundle. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet Molly." The baby was awake and really bubbly. She kept making happy noises, as she was definitely enjoying the attention she was getting from her parents' families. Later, she was back in her mother's arms. Chuck and Sarah were among the last to visit.

"Hey guys," Alex said tiredly. "I didn't get a chance to thank you for today."

"Don't mention it, cuz," Chuck said. "It was worth it."

"She's very pretty," Sarah said, leaning down and caressing the baby's cheek with a finger. "I got her this." She gave Alex the rattle.

"Thank you Sarah."

Sarah smiled and nudged Chuck, who gave Alex the stuffed toy dog he'd picked up for Molly.

-o-

"Well, this certainly explains why Molly is kind of your favorite niece, Mom," Sam said. "But then again, you don't discriminate between her and Clara."

"That's right. I was there when each of them was born. But Molly is my first niece, even though Chuck and I hadn't even gotten down to the basics back then."

"I have another question, Mom." Jason said. "One that Sam should have already asked you."

"I'm all ears," Sarah said simply.

"From what you told us, you were using your powers sparingly. I suppose you didn't want to be made?"

"Actually, that was the least of my concerns at the time. I had myself another reason."

Sam took the cue. "Does it apply to me as well?"

"No honey, the circumstances were very special. You see, I'd cast a very special spell to create what can be termed a powers reserve. Every day, most of my magical energy went to this reserve, while I kept only a small fraction for normal usage."

"Let me guess: You used this reserve to bring Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie Carina to the 21st century."

"Our daughter is going to be a very good witch," Chuck commented.

"Yes," Sarah confirmed. "Once they were all here, I didn't have to hoard my powers any more, so I could afford to be more liberal with their use."

"At least your first misunderstanding with Dad was completely harmless and you two cleared the air pretty fast."

"Well, the next one wasn't your father's fault either."

"I sense something juicy," Jason snickered.

"And you're not to hear the full details for a few more years," Chuck interjected. The last thing he needed was the kids to learn about it and the pre-Sarah skeletons in his closet.

"Tell us what happened next," Sam urged.

"Well, your Dad and I congratulated Alex and Cole, gave them the gifts we'd bought for Molly and returned to the office. Chuck was so happy that he couldn't concentrate on anything at first, but your grandfather managed to get him to do some work."

"And then?" Jason was ever impatient.

-o-

Things soon returned to normal after the minor disruption caused by Molly's birth on top of the frenzied activity at the Orion building. Of course, Sarah regretted having rushed to conclusions about Chuck and had resolved to make amends. Her big chance came sooner than she'd thought. But even before that, she had been seeing Chuck every day in the cafeteria, where they usually shared a table during their lunch hour.

About a week later, Mr. Watkins called Sarah to his office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Take a seat, Sarah."

"Thank you."

"I got a call from upstairs. Apparently, there is a tender for a major contract from a huge corporation."

"I'm with you so far. What do you want me to do?"

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you. Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski decided that you don't need to complete the probationary period. Your body of work so far qualifies you to be considered as worthy of having a permanent position in the Division. And I wholeheartedly agree with them."

"Um, I don't know what to say… Thank you."

"You are welcome. Now, let's get down to some serious business. I mentioned a huge contract we intend on bidding for."

"And you want me on the team," Sarah guessed.

"Exactly. I see that you speak French fluently. You just so happen to be the only French speaker available at the moment. Therefore, you and Chuck Bartowski are to travel to France for the tender."

"Yes sir," Sarah said, her excitement beginning to grow. She'd been to France once, with her father, and she was curious to see it now. "Do you have a briefing file for me?"

"No, Chuck will brief you. Report to him. As of now, you are excused from any other duties."

"It's not like I have anything left to do. The assessment on the marketing campaign for promoting the legal database search software is ready. I was about to finish the cover sheet when you called me."

"Bring the package here and go upstairs to Chuck's office."

"Right away, Mr. Watkins," she said and skipped out of the office to carry out her orders. As soon as she had the cover sheet done, she handed the entire file over to a coworker and was about to retrieve her phone when Watkins announced her new status to the entire Division. The entire staff had gotten to like Sarah, so they all spontaneously applauded. She blushed quite a bit, thanked them and got back to work.

Chuck's office door was wide open, so she rapped her knuckles on the frame and peeked inside. "Hey Chuck."

"Sarah, come on in. I was expecting you."

"Mr. Watkins told me about the trip to France."

"I asked him to assign someone fluent in French to help me bid for the contract over there."

"And I was the only one available, according to him."

"Luck of the draw, I guess. Also, congratulations on successfully passing the evaluation."

"Your parents were too kind," she said modestly. "I was only doing my job."

"Sure you were. Anyway, let's focus on the French contract, shall we?" Seeing her nod, he continued. "We are basically aiming on selling an entire centralized operations system to a corporation that includes an airline, and other tourism related businesses such as a chain of five star hotels, a couple of cruise ships and tour buses for overland excursions."

"The Executive Constellation system can be customized to suit the potential customer's needs," Sarah pointed out.

"Someone's been reading the company literature," Chuck smiled.

"It's all part of the job," she shrugged. In fact, she'd already completed all the required reading for employees in her Division and more.

"OK," he nodded. "First thing on the agenda: travel plans. I'll call a buddy down in Accounting and Finances and have him draw up a project budget for us with the funds to use the executive jet plus everything else we may need in France."

"Using a company aircraft will give us considerable freedom of movement," she agreed. "Who is going to handle the accommodations?"

"Leave the matter to me and my buddies. We went to France once after finishing college, so we have the experience and knowledge to make the arrangements."

"Fine by me. But I would like to see the file on the customer, if we happen to have one."

He smiled and gave her a thick folder. "Here it is." He then reached for the phone and dialed an internal extension. "Hey Bryce, I was wondering if you have the time to compile a budget package for a trip for two to France… Yes, make it for two people. We'll use Dad's jet. Oh, and work with Morgan on the hotel reservation and the car rental issues, OK? We're leaving in two days."

"Two days?" Sarah exclaimed. "We don't have enough time to prepare a comprehensive tender."

"Who was that?" Bryce asked.

"That was Ms. Walker from Marketing, who will be assisting me," Chuck replied. "Sarah, use an older tender as a pattern."

"I'll see what I can do." She took the folder and immediately began to study its contents very carefully. She had a lot to do and she'd probably have to put in some long hours. At least Chuck would be there to answer any and all questions.

-o-

"Wow, a trip to France? It must have been great!" Sam enthused.

"Indeed," Jason agreed. "Traveling in style, I assume you stayed in a five star hotel suite…"

"Stop teasing us," Chuck admonished them. "We had to win an important contract. Millions were at stake. Your Mom handled it like a trooper, as I expected her to."

"Of course, spending those long hours and an all-nighter in the office with you definitely helped," Sarah whispered in his ear. She then smiled at her children. "Samantha's right about one thing though. The Paris trip and everything that happened during it was a major step forward as far as our relationship was concerned. Naturally, before we left, he did everything in his power to make sure I had everything I needed. Chuck always had great concern for the welfare of the people working for his family. Needless to say, he went all out for me."

"And we know why, right sis?"

"Yup," Sam nodded. "What I'm waiting to hear about, though, is how Dad learned about Mom being a witch."

"All in due time, Sam," Chuck said. "While we were getting ready for the trip, I found myself thinking how lucky I was for fate to make Sarah and me meet. She has an amazing learning curve and she added a couple of innovative ideas to the package, which made it all the more attractive to the customer."

"I don't wanna listen to the boring details of your work," Jason interrupted. "Tell us about the flight to Paris."

"Let's take a break first and then Sarah and I will tell you all about it, OK?"

"Sure thing, Dad," the twins chorused.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hello people! Sorry for the delayed update, but I had a lot of things to do lately, plus the computer monitor in my office went poof on me (smoke and everything – smelled like burnt popcorn). Hopefully, you'll find the extra thousand plus words in this chapter to be adequate compensation for the wait.

* * *

Chuck came to the Maison 23 to pick up Sarah right on time, in the crack of dawn. She'd been waiting for him in the lobby, a packed suitcase next to her. She went outside the moment she spotted his car. He loaded the suitcase in the trunk next to his and they got in for the drive to the airport. Both were casually dressed. Chuck was wearing jeans and a shirt, while she was in form fitting jeans and a blouse.

"Aren't we a little under-dressed for a business trip?" Sarah inquired.

"It's a very long flight to Paris, Sarah. Plus, we won't be seeing the potential customer immediately."

"I see. You look a little tired though."

"Long night," he said by way of explanation. "Morgan and Bryce came over to my place and we stayed up late playing computer and video games. I'll catch up on my sleep during the flight."

Throughout the drive to the airport, they talked about the tender. In the end they agreed that they had everything pretty much covered, but they were going to take another look at the proposal during the flight and see if there was anything they could make any last minute additions. Never having even been on a plane before, Sarah was privately very excited at the prospect of flying, although she hid it well. Avoiding the hassle of waiting for a commercial flight was another plus. Soon, they were both boarding the Orion Computers and Software Falcon 7X executive jet. The interior was plush, tastefully furnished and even included two partitioned sleeping sections in the cabin.

"I suggest we get some sleep first and then we'll go over the package again. What do you think, Sarah?" Chuck asked her once their luggage was stowed.

"I think it's a very good idea," she replied and yawned. "And I like the partitions," she added. "They give a fair amount of privacy."

Of course, she wouldn't miss the experience of take off for anything in the world. She and Chuck fastened their seatbelts and not long later the aircraft was winging its way towards Europe. When the pilot turned the fasten seatbelts light off, they went to the bunk beds, closed the partitions, changed into pajamas and promptly fell asleep.

He woke her up a few hours later, allowed her some time to get dressed and together they reviewed the proposal they would submit. Therefore, the almost eleven hours long flight was spent productively. The Falcon touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport at about three in the morning, local time. Sarah by now had full understanding and appreciation of Chuck's travel dress code. After the necessary stop at customs and immigration, Chuck and Sarah were in a rental car driving towards the city.

"I suppose we are going straight to the hotel," Sarah said.

"Well, there is nothing else to do at this hour," he replied.

"You didn't tell me when we'll be meeting the customer."

"Prospective customer, and it has all been arranged through their procurement section. Remember, many companies are bidding for the contract. Therefore, they'll be meeting representatives from said companies, ours included, separately. Watkins made the arrangements with them, so if all goes as planned we'll have our turn tomorrow, well, later today, I mean, which will give us plenty of time to adjust and decompress."

"Sounds good to me," she shrugged. "You seem to know where we're going."

"I've been to Paris before," he smiled.

-o-

"Here you are, Monsieur Bartowski, your suite," the concierge told Chuck, handing him a keycard and getting a generous tip in return.

"Thank you. Now, could you please show Ms. Walker to her room?"

"This is her room too, Monsieur."

"Excuse me?" Chuck and Sarah asked, incredulous.

"It's a two bedroom suite," the concierge explained. "That's how your company booked it."

"Oh. I see, thank you."

"I believe you'll find the amenities provided most pleasant. I can also schedule a couple's massage for you later. There is complimentary champagne in the lounge, too."

"I think it's too early for champagne, but we may need it later."

"What for, Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"To celebrate if we win the contract," he replied cheerfully. He turned to the concierge. "I'll let you know if and when we'll need it."

"And winning will definitely be cause for celebration, Monsieur," the man agreed.

"Choose your room," Chuck told her after the concierge left.

"Let's look at both and we'll decide then."

"OK. By the way, this was not my doing, Sarah."

"You don't need to explain," she said, reassuringly placing a hand on his arm.

"Yes I do. I am very respectful of women and I'd do nothing to embarrass you. This is all Bryce's doing. Although I don't think he'd be able to come up with the whole thing by himself. Jill, his girlfriend, must have chipped in with an idea or two."

"The couple's massage could have been a woman's idea," Sarah mused aloud.

"Bryce, Jill and Morgan are going to get an earful when we return home. I'm pretty sure they are all in this together."

Sarah suppressed the urge to ask why Chuck's friends would have gone to all this trouble. And then it came to her. They could have been trying to play matchmaker, or maybe even play a prank on their friend. Either way, she wasn't bothered.

The two bedrooms were separated by a part of the living room and both had a view of the Eiffel Tower. And they were the mirror image of each other. Eventually, Sarah picked the one on the right, as the layout was somewhat similar to that of her own bedroom. Chuck took the other room.

-o-

Later the same day was their turn to submit the proposal for the tender, as arranged. By mid morning, they both were at the headquarters of the BW Group. Since they'd arrived early, they took the opportunity to size up the potential client company once more. The BW Group's diversified activities dealt almost exclusively with the tourism sector and it was being run efficiently, although there was definite room for improvement, as Chuck remarked to Sarah.

A secretary came to see them. "Madame Banachek will see you now," she said in accented English.

"Merci," Chuck replied. He and Sarah followed the secretary into the BW Group president's office. The formal introductions were made, with both Orion people speaking in French, which definitely impressed Mrs. Banachek. She was known as a cutthroat businesswoman, and in fact in the trade there was a play on her corporation's initials: it was jokingly known as the Black Widow Group.

"You know, Mr. Bartowski, you are the highest ranking person to come here to submit an offer," she said as she escorted them to an adjoining conference room where the presentation would take place, after the introductions were made. Another BW executive plus some people from the procurement section were also present.

"Madame, we at Orion believe that you should get only the best, cliché as it sounds."

"To use American vernacular, show me what you've got and blow my mind."

For the next few hours, Chuck, ably assisted by Sarah, made a comprehensive presentation of the Executive Constellation System and its unique features. "With the system, not only will every company in the group be able to better organize its activities, but the Group headquarters will have a real time view of the big picture and will be able to step in and coordinate or correct as required," Chuck concluded.

Sasha Banachek nodded. "And now to the financial part of your offer. Per the tender, it must be in a sealed envelope."

"Here it is, Madame," Sarah said, handing her a sealed envelope. "I must stress that, since you have not provided information on the existing technical infrastructure of your group of companies, the costs stated include only hardware and software acquisition, personnel training as well as extended warranty and follow-on support. A tentative estimation on the basic installation costs is included in an addendum, however."

"Very well," Banachek said. "I have the representatives of one more company to see, and then the board of directors will convene to examine the various offers and select the winner. Thank you for coming here, Mr. Bartowski and Mademoiselle Walker."

"Thank you for your time, Madame, and I hope for a long and fruitful cooperation between our companies."

"We'll let you know about the final decision as soon as it is made."

On the way out, they passed two people from another company coming in. Chuck focused on the folders they were carrying, while Sarah looked at one of them with narrowed eyes. The man was a dead ringer for Daniel Shaw. He even leered at her the same way. She looked away in disgust.

"What's wrong?" Chuck asked when they were out of the building. "You didn't seem to like that guy from Roark Instruments. Not the balding one, the other. Do you know him?"

"He reminded me of a creep that made a pass at me once," she replied, clearly not wishing to discuss the matter further. "I take it you know the company he works for," she added.

"Roark Instruments is one of our main competitors. They even tried to steal technology from us, but they got caught. They had to pay us millions and their stock took a big hit as well. Rumor has it that they'll fold if they don't win this contract."

"I hope they lose the tender," Sarah said resolutely.

"Yeah, me too. Ted Roark is a conniving bastard. And Smith, one of the guys we passed on the way out, is one of his dirty work people."

"Which one is Smith?"

"The older one," Chuck replied. "He was the one caught trying to break into the Research and Development Division. Looks like he got out of prison."

"He was in prison?"

"He got caught and convicted for trespassing, breaking and entering, plus attempted corporate espionage. They must have let him out on good behavior."

"Are their products any good?"

"They are, but not like ours."

"Nothing can be like ours, Chuck. We are the best."

"That's the spirit, Sarah!"

"Hey, I work in marketing. Talking up the company is my job. So, what's next?"

"All this talking during the presentation made me thirsty. Would you care for some refreshment, Sarah? You must need it, as you did a fair amount of talking, too."

"Lead the way, Chuck."

"Okie-dokie. And afterwards I'll be giving you time off to go shopping."

"Um, are you sure you won't need me for anything?"

"There is nothing we can do until we get a call from BW about the outcome of the bidding. Besides, Ellie ordered me to allow you time for shopping."

"She did? Very considerate of her, but why did she do that?"

"According to her, it's a cardinal sin for a girl not to go shopping while in Paris. She also wants me to get her some souvenirs, so I'll be doing my share of shopping, too."

-o-

They met again hours later in the lobby, both carrying various bags and packages. A bellhop helped by taking them upstairs to their suite and was tipped accordingly. Once they were alone, they both plopped down on the very comfortable couch.

"My feet are killing me," Sarah complained. She was still wearing her high heels, so she unceremoniously kicked them off and then took her suit jacket off.

"I'm pretty beat, too," Chuck admitted, draping his suit jacket over a chair, pondering on whether it was inappropriate to offer to give Sarah a foot massage.

Right then, Sarah had an idea. "Chuck, the thing your friends arranged, the couple's massage, suddenly sounds just like the thing to do right now."

He looked wide eyed at her as he processed what she'd said. It made perfect sense. Why waste a perfectly good reservation when they both needed it? "I'll call the front desk and make the arrangements," he volunteered.

-o-

"What?" Sarah asked, seeing the incredulous expressions on the faces of her children.

"You went for a couple's massage together and you weren't even official yet?" Jason said.

"We're not complaining, mind you," Sam added. "But we are curious as to how you allowed it to happen."

"Your father arranged to have a partition between us. We could talk, but not see each other from the neck down. Of course, respecting my modesty like that, earned him lots of brownie points with me."

"Get back to the story," Jason urged impatiently.

-o-

Her phone rang during the massage session. "Why now?" Sarah groaned.

"Don't answer it. Whoever it is, we can always call them back," Chuck told her.

"It may be from the office, so I better get it." She had been very close to total bliss, but took the call anyway. "Walker." She listened for a few seconds then reported that the presentation had been made and they were waiting for the results. "It was Mr. Watkins," she informed Chuck.

"I sorta knew it," he muttered, not wanting to bother with work at the moment.

The massage had left them both feeling refreshed. Gone was any trace of exhaustion from the traveling and the long day they'd had. Afterwards, Chuck took her to dinner at the hotel's restaurant, claiming that it would have been a grave sin of omission to pass up on the opportunity. Then she came up with the idea to go for a walk. He wholeheartedly agreed. He kept a respectful distance from her, which impressed her even more and left her somewhat disappointed as well, because she wouldn't mind some closer proximity.

When they got back, Chuck called his parents on a video link to report back to them. Mary and Stephen were very satisfied with what they were hearing, although they both made a face when Roark Instruments was mentioned. After the call was terminated, Chuck opted to watch TV, while Sarah took a refreshing shower. And then it was his turn. When he came into the living room dressed in his pajamas, he found her asleep on the couch. He pondered waking her up, but in the end he gave in to his first impulse and gently picked her up, carrying her to her room and tucking her in. Incredibly, she didn't even stir. Now he knew it hadn't been his imagination. She'd really stayed up to better prepare for the presentation the previous night. All day long she'd been going on just two or three hours of sleep.

When Sarah finally woke up, she looked at her surroundings, wondering why the last thing she remembered was watching TV in the living room, while she was currently in her bed. Maybe Chuck could help. She got up and went to find him, still in her blue pajamas.

"Hey," he smiled as he wheeled a room service cart towards a table. "I ordered us some breakfast. Want some coffee? Nice bed head, by the way."

She ran a hand through her sleep-tousled hair and smiled. "Coffee sounds just right. Also, how did I manage to get to my room last night?"

"I carried you there," he replied casually, while pouring two cups of coffee. "You fell asleep on the couch and I thought you'd be more comfortable in a real bed, but didn't have the heart to wake you up, not after all the work you'd done, so carrying you to your room and letting you sleep late seemed to be my only option. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't and thanks." She gratefully accepted a cup and took a sip. "What's on the schedule for today?"

"Not much," he shrugged. "Basically, we wait until the BW people call with news. I am doing some work on my laptop, but nothing much. We're mostly free to do what we want. In fact, I was thinking about checking out the pool later."

"The pool?" Sarah echoed. She could swim, but she had never tried a pool. It could potentially be a nice new experience for her. There was one problem though. "I don't have anything to wear to the pool," she said.

"The hotel has a store and I'm sure they have bathing suits," he informed her.

"I'll go check it out after breakfast."

True to her word, Sarah made tracks for the store after they finished their breakfast. Finding something to wear for the pool wasn't hard at all. In fact, one particular outfit seemed to be calling her name. It was beautiful in all its classic simplicity. She also purchased a matching sarong and a beach dress to wear over the bathing suit. She changed and together with Chuck went to the pool. The look on his face when she took off the dress and revealed the black gold-studded bikini she was wearing underneath was priceless. For her part, she'd never been in public wearing so little. They thoroughly enjoyed their swim as well as a fruit cocktail each.

"So, Chuck, do you have anything planned for the rest of the day?"

"Kind of, yes," he replied. "I was thinking about doing some work on a project of mine. I've got my laptop here, as you know."

"Well then, I'd better get on with some work myself," she said and went to take her own Orion issue laptop from its carrying case in her room.

-o-

Work progressed smoothly with a break for an excellent lunch delivered by room service. By early afternoon they had completed several tasks. And then their room phone rang. "Chuck Bartowski," Chuck answered the call. "Yes Madame… of course…" His face brightened up. "I agree it's in our mutual interest to expedite… yes, I know where it is… We'll meet there."

"Who was it?" Sarah asked after he'd hung up.

"It was Mrs. Banachek."

"And?" Sarah prodded, her voice dripping with anticipation.

And…" He paused for effect. "We… WE WON THE CONTRACT, SARAH!"

"WHAT? THIS IS AMAZING!"

Neither of them could later explain exactly how it happened, but in the next instant she grabbed him and kissed him long and hard – with tongue.

-o-

"You kissed him?" Jason and Sam were staring wide eyed at their parents.

"I did," Sarah confirmed, somewhat timidly. "Chuck had gone out of his way to make me feel comfortable with the job and the rest, I liked him immensely… in the end I couldn't resist."

"She said it was kind of uncomfortable after we finished the kiss. It was completely comfortable on my end," Chuck chipped in his own two cents. "Care for a repeat, Sarah?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively at his wife.

"Ew, gross," Sam scrunched her face. "But still… You can kiss after I go make some popcorn."

"I'll help," Jason said, wishing to give his parents some privacy. Chuck captured Sarah's lips with his after the kids had left. They would continue the story when Jason and Sam returned with some freshly made popcorn and refreshments for all of them.

-o-

They drove to the high-end apartment building where Sasha Banachek lived after informing the Orion headquarters and changing into business suits. The doorman led them to a spacious visitors' lounge by the lobby.

"Mr. Bartowski, Ms. Walker," Banachek said. "Welcome. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Of course," Chuck nodded. Sarah remained silent for the moment.

"The board of directors evaluated the offers and it was immediately obvious that yours was the best from a technical standpoint as well as the most advantageous financially. The decision to award the contract to Orion was unanimous. Your company's excellent reputation left no room for reservations on our part. Today we are going to sign a memorandum of understanding and a letter of intent before proceeding with the final negotiations for the contract details, including the full breakdown of installation costs."

"Let me reassure you once again, Madame, that you're getting excellent value for your money."

"I understand that your legal teams have studied the documents we are signing today in depth, since they were posted on our website"

"They have and we have no amendments to suggest for them."

"Excellent. I have them right here with me. Feel free to read them again before signing them."

"Just give us a few minutes, Madame."

Chuck and Sarah quickly read through the documents, verifying that they were just like the drafts posted on the BW Group's website. Satisfied, Chuck declared everything in order and proceeded to sign them on behalf of Orion Computers and Software. Banachek also signed them and each party got a copy.

"Madame Banachek, I have a question," Sarah said after the client and Chuck shook hands.

"Go ahead, Ms. Walker."

"There is no mention of it in the documents, but I was wondering if we can advertise the fact that as of today the BW Group is another one of our satisfied customers."

"Ah, you'd like to have the bragging rights, as you Americans say."

"In a nutshell, yes," Sarah nodded.

"I see no problem with it. The BW Group could also benefit from having its relationship with Orion made known. I'll raise the matter before the board and send you a waiver, or a letter of consent at the earliest convenience."

"Thank you Madame Banachek."

By Sarah's side, Chuck was smiling and nodding approvingly. Such a move could only help future sales.

"I believe this concludes business for the day," Mrs. Banachek said.

"I agree," Chuck said.

"Walk with me for a minute, Monsieur Bartowski."

He got up and escorted her out of the lounge, across the lobby and towards the elevators. Sarah also followed, keeping a discreet distance.

"Monsieur Bartowski, I am a firm believer in having pleasure after doing business," Banachek said.

"I'm not sure I follow," Chuck said cautiously.

Sasha laughed. "I'd like you to take me up to my room and make mad passionate sex to me," she explained in a most sultry manner. Just to drive the point home, she planted one on Chuck. Sarah almost dropped her briefcase as she witnessed the scene open-mouthed in shock.

Chuck struggled a bit and managed to put some distance between himself and the cougar. "As flattered as I am by your, ahem, proposition, I feel I have to inform you that I'm already romantically involved with someone and I can't step out on her." Of course this wasn't entirely true, but he had a point to drive home.

Sasha Banachek smiled, took a handkerchief and wiped the smeared lipstick off of Chuck's face. "You have integrity, Monsieur Bartowski. I appreciate it and your honesty. It makes doing business with you even better."

"Thank you Madame. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"By all means."

He let out a relieved breath when he rejoined Sarah. "Phew. That was something I could have never anticipated."

"Tell me about it. What did you say to make her back off?"

"I lied and told her I was already seeing someone."

"And it obviously worked."

"Yes it did. Let's get out of here. I need some air before we go back to our hotel."

"Me too," she agreed and looped an arm through his as they walked out of the building. Subconsciously, she was rejoicing and hoping the next time Chuck used the 'I'm already taken' line on another woman it would be true.

But at the moment they had other things to take care of, namely celebrating winning a most lucrative contract. Therefore, Chuck decreed that they were going to have dinner in a fancy restaurant and wasn't taking no for an answer. He used a trip to the men's room to call the hotel and ask for a bottle of champagne to be delivered to their room. He'd promised Sarah a celebration with good champagne if they won the contract and he was definitely keeping the promise.

The champagne had been of an excellent vintage. Therefore, the entire bottle went in practically no time at all as Chuck and Sarah kept toasting and congratulating each other on their current as well as future successes. Naturally, the libation had certain consequences, namely a considerable lowering of inhibitions for both parties concerned. Perhaps this was why they both wandered back into the living room to sit together on the couch after changing into their pajamas instead of going to sleep right away. In the end, both were rather drowsy and decided to call it a night. Only they ended up in the same bed: Chuck's. Neither of them seemed to notice as they got under the covers and swiftly entered Dreamland.

In the morning Chuck woke up first to find that they were spooned together. After the initial surprise passed, and noting they were both still fully clothed, he leaned back on the pillows to savor the feeling of having the woman he desired sleeping cuddled up with him. He was unconsciously caressing her hand, but suddenly her fingers became entwined with his. Sarah was finally awake.

One look – and the memory of the previous day's kiss – was all it took. They shared a meaningful look and kissed again, just as passionately. They ended the kiss when the need for air became pressing, looked at each other and kissed again. They were through denying their feelings for each other.

"I love you Sarah," Chuck whispered in her ear. "I always have."

"I fell for you after we bumped into each other three times in one day and before you took me out to dinner to congratulate me on the Montgomery contract and had to spend the night in your place."

"Really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "Now shut up and kiss me."

"Gladly." Chuck was in seventh heaven. The feelings he had for this amazing young woman were being reciprocated. He knew she was as happy as he was with the latest developments. He was about to deepen the kiss when…

"Chuck, hold on for a second."

"What?" He was a bit puzzled as her hands had already slipped under his shirt and she seemed to be about ready to pull it off of him.

"Before we go any further, there is something I have to tell you. And then we can decide on whether to move forward or not."

"You don't have a terminal disease, do you?"

She actually laughed. "Nothing so dramatic, although you may freak out when I tell you what I want to tell you."

"Go ahead. I'm all ears."

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Here goes: I'm not who you think I am, Chuck." She continued before he could say anything. "I mean, I really am Sarah Walker, but I wasn't born in LA and lived in San Diego."

"So, where are you from, really?"

"Britain," she replied. "I was born in sixteenth century Britain, Chuck."

"Now you're yanking my chain."

"No, really. I'm not an entirely normal girl, Chuck. I'm a witch."

"A witch… riiiiight."

"You want proof?" Sarah waved her hand and the mini bar fridge opened. The next instant a bottle of mineral water flew into Chuck's room and hovered in front of him. Then it popped open. She grabbed it and took a sip. "I was thirsty, too," she explained.

He was looking at her in total shock and disbelief, his eyes bulging and his jaw hanging open. "If you are a witch from the sixteenth century, then how did you end up in 21st century LA?"

"It's a long story, which I'll tell you some day if you like, but it involves considerable magic combined with a slight error, but it was fortunate, as I met you. Chuck, I love you too much to keep it from you any longer. Everything you've done so far has made me love you more. Please, say something."

"It's not that easy. You freaked me out a bit here."

"Imagine how freaked out I was when I discovered when and where I'd ended up."

"Normal girl or witch, I still love you. You didn't use magic on me, I take it."

"Such magic is simply impossible. But we made our own magic, Chuck. It's not in any book of magic, but it's real. So, you don't have a problem with me being a witch?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it, but I don't think it will be a problem. Besides, I always had this feeling that you are a unique person, in more than one way. And now I would very much like to kiss you again."

"I would love another kiss," she smiled.

"No matter what happens, we'll work it out together." As he kissed her again, he thought that by all rights he should have freaked out even more than he'd already had, but he couldn't help considering having a real witch as his girlfriend very, very cool.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Chuck and Sarah are official now, but the story is not over yet. Again, thank you all for your wonderful continued support. Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

"You two progressed from acquaintances to friends and on to being a couple in about a month?" Samantha blurted out, somewhat disbelievingly.

"True love just can't be denied, sis," Jason said smugly. "Look at them. Do you really think it would take them three, four, or even, say, six years of dancing around their feelings for each other before giving in to the inevitable?" His parents laughed and cuddled closer.

"Shut up bro." Sam then turned to her parents. "But you didn't get married right away," she stated.

"There were other things to take care of first. Making the continued adjustment to the modern world easier for me was Chuck's tendency to be a bit old-fashioned when it came to relationships. We both wanted to get to know each other better and let things follow their course from there. And then we had our jobs to do as well," Sarah said.

"By the way, Sarah, I don't think the kids have seen our photo album from the Paris trip." Chuck got up and made his way to the study. He returned with an Orion Photo Album Tablet/Frame – of his own design and one of the first models made.

"Ah yes, I remember that one," Sarah said. She took it from his hands and turned it on. The first picture was of the two of them in his hotel room bed, cuddled together fully clothed and smiling at the camera. "Chuck took this one with his phone."

Jason grabbed the gadget from his mother's hand and huddled together with his sister to scroll through the pictures. While creating the album, Chuck had made sure to include only those pictures that would be suitable for sharing with his family and friends.

"What is this one?" Jason asked. He showed Chuck and Sarah a picture obviously not taken in their hotel room or on a sightseeing trip. Chuck was holding up a comic book and Sarah had two tickets.

"We asked a tourist at the Montparnasse train station to take this one," Chuck replied. "I had just bought the latest issue of Justice League, right after we'd booked two tickets on an antique train to Zurich for a retro style trip."

"Your grandparents had given us some time off from work following our success in winning the BW Group contract," Sarah added.

"Those were good times. Your Mom and I stayed in our compartment for the first two days of the trip."

"That's waaaaaaay too much information, Dad," Sam said.

"Then let's get back to the story."

-o-

Chuck and Sarah had no intention of leaving their luxuriously furnished first class compartment, at least not until they absolutely had to or until the mood struck them.

"I love the modern world," Sarah remarked. "In my day…"

"You mean the era you came from. This is as much your time as it is mine," Chuck corrected.

"Okay, in the sixteenth century they didn't have this kind of travel. I mean, I've traveled on horseback, on a wagon and on ships, but planes, cars and trains trump them all."

"You should try a modern ship, too."

"I will, some day. By the way, have you ever tried riding a horse?"

"Sure. When Ellie and I were younger, my parents used to take us to a ranch owned by one of their friends a few times. I had a chance to ride horses and the like."

"But you haven't flown on a witch's broom," she stated, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"You have a flying broom? Get out of here!"

"This is a part of witches' lore that's actually true. I've always assumed it must have something to do with the broom's business end resembling a bird's tail."

"It gives some stability in flight?" Chuck guessed.

"Not really. Magic does all the technical stuff. Remember when I told you back in Paris about having inherited my powers from a great aunt of mine?"

"I loved the story," he said, kissing her shoulder.

"Well, she taught me to fly a broom. And she helped me make my own."

"Do you still have it?"

"Of course I do. It's in my closet back in LA."

"I'd like a ride on it someday, if it can seat two, of course."

"Sure, I think I can arrange something for you. But we'll need to be discreet about it."

"My Dad has a nice cabin near Bishop. It's close to the town, but pretty much isolated. I'd love to take you up there someday. We can go swimming, hiking, off-roading, fishing… or we can just cuddle in front of the fireplace." He paused and his expression turned thoughtful.

"What?"

"I was just thinking about something."

"You know you can tell me, right? You can tell me anything."

"Should we tell my family the truth about you… about what you really are?"

"Convincing them shouldn't be a problem," Sarah declared. After all, a little magic was all it was going to take. "But what is their reaction going to be?"

"Oh well, I think they'll be surprised at first, but then they'll take it in stride." He kissed her and she automatically snuggled even closer. "Also, for what it's worth, I would have liked to meet your family."

"It means a lot to me, Chuck. Besides, you'll get the chance to meet them soon enough."

"You brought them here? I mean, you brought them to the 21st century with you?"

Sarah smiled. She had told him why she'd been forced to relocate. "No, but I fully intend to. They're going to love this time, especially my Dad. He's always had a thing for technology, crude as it was in the 16th century."

"When you go back to get them, send a gift basket to the town priest for me."

"What? Do you know how much grief this idiot has caused me and my family?"

"I know and I'm sorry about that. What I'm most definitely not sorry for though, is the result of his skullduggery. It brought you to me."

"Huh. I never thought of it from this perspective, Chuck. But you're right. There is a silver lining. Boy, I'd love to rub it in his face. Not only did he not get what he wanted, namely me, but he also indirectly sent me into the arms of another man: you."

"Don't you just love the irony of the universe? By the way, how are you planning to bring your folks here?"

"It's not as difficult as it sounds. I got here all right, didn't I? For the last few weeks I've been hoarding most of my powers in a special reserve that I created. It will soon be sufficient not only to bring them all here, but also to educate them in the ways of this world so that they won't be as clueless as I was – and still am sometimes."

"Can you take me with you when you go bring them here?"

"I could, but I'd need some more time to add to the power reserve."

"OK. I can sit this one out, if you prefer it that way."

"Chuck, it won't take me long. I'll just get there and be back in a day or so," she assured him. "Right now, what would you like to do?"

"I think we should get out of this compartment for a while." He got up and smiled. "I'll go shave first."

"According to the conductor, the dining car is very well appointed indeed," she said, remembering the Frenchman's comment when he'd brought them their dinner the previous night.

Just before he opened the door to the bathroom, he thought of something. "Tell me, Sarah… When the incident in the storeroom happened…"

"Yep," she nodded, knowing what he was talking about. "It was me."

"On behalf of the company, thank you."

"Go shave, Chuck. I'll have your clothes out for you by the time you're done."

-o-

They were on the deck of a paddle steamer plying the lake when his parents called. One of their clients, a Swiss bank, needed some urgent work done on one of their servers, since it was beyond the capabilities of their in-house tech team. Naturally, Chuck and Sarah agreed to deal with the matter, since their vacation was almost over anyway.

Indicative of the matter's importance was the fact that the bank's president himself was waiting for them. Chuck fixed the problem in short order, explaining what had gone wrong and how to avoid a reoccurrence.

"So, what's next?" Sarah asked as they left the bank building.

"I was planning on buying a couple of months' worth of chocolates for Ellie. She loves Swiss chocolates."

"Are they that good?"

"Jeez, Sarah, you've never had a Swiss chocolate? What am I saying, you, um, just got here."

"But I like chocolate," she protested.

"If you haven't had a Swiss chocolate, you don't know what chocolate is, Ellie says."

Much later, on the flight back to the US, Chuck popped the cork from a bottle of champagne he'd retrieved from the Falcon's refrigerator.

"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me, Mr. Bartowski?" Sarah asked foxily.

"Maybe I want to get drunk so you can take advantage of me."

"Hmm, a man who's not afraid of letting a woman take the lead. I like it."

"Nevertheless, this is to go with the chocolates I bought for you today."

"Aha! Finally, I get to see what the fuss was all about."

"What do I get if I'm proven right?"

"We'll see just how good the soundproofing between the cockpit and the cabin really is," she smiled.

-o-

Of course, the version of the events told to Jason and Samantha was heavily edited to leave out all references of the (then) new couple's sexcapades. But still, the kids couldn't resist teasing their parents.

"Jeez, guys," Jason said. "I wonder how on earth Sam and I didn't end up with some weird form of congenital diabetes."

"He's right," Sam nodded. "You both have a sweet tooth and not only for confectionery. Your story is so sweet, it's actually somewhat sickening."

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other. They had learned to read each other's mind and communicate wordlessly years ago. And then two cushions flew to the children's faces. Unfortunately, Jason managed to deflect the one directed at him, which landed on the sleeping Lucy, jerking her rudely awake. She meowed and hissed her displeasure, retiring with some dignity to the shelter provided by Rex's furry bulk, who was too lazy at the moment to get up and make a grab for one of the cushions.

"How was your flight home?" Jason asked, wanting to hear more about his parents' story.

"Smooth," Sarah replied. "It gave your father the opportunity to teach me how to play poker after we were done eating the chocolates."

"Your Mom is a fast learner. I only gave her a few lessons before she was able to play poker with the Vegas' best." Neither said that strip poker was one of their favorite pastimes, it had been for years.

-o-

"We still have a lot of time before we get home" Chuck said, after consulting with the flight crew. They were somewhere over Ireland.

Sarah propped herself up on one elbow and covered herself with a sheet. "The chocolates are gone, but we still have some champagne left," she pointed out. "Although I'm not really in the mood for more champagne."

"Me neither," he agreed. Then it came to him. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"Let's hear it."

"My parents and I always keep a few DVDs here. They are quite an entertainment on long flights."

"Can I choose?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"Knock yourself out."

She quickly got dressed and moved to the indicated cabinet below the huge flat screen TV taking up most of one side of a bulkhead. She browsed through the DVDs stored in there. "Bewitched," she read the title of one. "What is it?"

"It's an old TV show, where a witch meets, falls in love with and marries a regular guy."

"Hmmm, sounds familiar, right?" Sarah smiled meaningfully.

"Kind of reminds me of us."

"Do you like the show?"

"Are you kidding? It's a classic, right alongside Hart to Hart, Charlie's Angels, I Dream of Jeannie, and more."

"While reading up on modern culture, I ran across something called movie and TV show marathons. Perhaps we could have our own," she suggested.

"One of the things I love about you, after finding out when you come from, is your eagerness to learn everything you can about the 21st century and the history that preceded it," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

"The Internet is a wonderful tool for learning about things," she said, craning her neck and twisting her body to place a loving kiss on his lips.

-o-

Sarah could draw many parallels between her and Samantha from Bewitched after watching a few episodes, cuddled together with Chuck. "This is actually quite educational for me," she remarked.

"What do you mean? Is it about hiding being a witch?"

"Among other things," she conceded. "But it also showed a lot of fun uses for witchy powers."

"You're not going to be doing 'stuff' all the time, are you?"

"Not really."

He looked disbelievingly at her.

"Witch's honor," she promised, making the same sign she'd seen Samantha make in the show. "I'll only use magic when I absolutely have to… or when I'm too lazy to do things the normal way."

-o-

During the last part of the flight and the subsequent drive home, Chuck had managed to reassure Sarah that his family would still accept her as his girlfriend even after she revealed her secret to them. After all, she'd proven herself to be a valuable employee at Orion and everyone in the Bartowski family liked her immensely. Unknowingly, Ellie helped a lot by insisting on having Sarah stay for dinner. Therefore, everyone was there for the announcement.

Dessert had been served and now they were all enjoying coffee and small talk when Chuck rose and asked for everyone's attention.

"What do you want to tell us, Chuck?" Mary asked with a smile, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"I know it's kind of out of the blue, but Sarah and I are dating as of last week."

"Took you long enough," Stephen commented and nonchalantly took a sip of his coffee.

Ellie chimed in. "I was expecting it to happen sooner. Everyone saw how you were looking at each other in the hospital, when Molly was born."

"Congratulations bro," Devon added. "Sarah, you got yourself a great guy."

"Don't I know it," Sarah smiled. "Just before we agreed to upgrade our relationship from being friends to being a couple, I made a confession to Chuck. It freaked him out a bit, but he assured me it would have a positive effect on us, as a whole. And now we agreed that you should know as well, in order to avoid any misunderstandings."

"My curiosity has been officially piqued," Mary declared. "Go on, Sarah,"

"Thank you Mrs. B."

"From now on call me Mary, Sarah dear," Mary interrupted her.

"OK. Well, Mary, some things you think you know about me aren't exactly true. For instance, my family has never been to San Diego." Sarah held up a hand to stop the barrage of questions she saw coming. "I'll explain everything."

"I'm right here," Chuck said, taking her hand in his.

"OK, here goes: I… I am from the sixteenth century and I am a witch. I was a bit careless with a spell and ended up here."

Stephen, Mary, Devon and Ellie were all looking at Sarah and judging by their expressions they were trying to decide on whether she and Chuck were pulling a prank on them or if she had escaped from a mental institution.

"Maybe a small demonstration is in order," Chuck told Sarah.

"It worked on you," she agreed.

"What do you want to do? I know you want to preserve as much of your powers as possible."

"Just watch me," Sarah said, winking meaningfully at Chuck. She waved a hand over the coffee table and suddenly their cups were all refilled and the level of coffee in the pot was correspondingly lower. Also, a plateful of cookies appeared literally out of nowhere.

"This is only a small indication of what she's capable of," Chuck informed the others. "I think Mom and Dad learned of the near accident in the storeroom not long ago. What you don't know is that Sarah used magic to save one of our employees from being crushed by the falling boxes."

"I believe I can go ahead and tell the story now, right?" Sarah said. Everyone nodded mechanically. Chuck smiled and again squeezed her hand reassuringly.

It took her a couple of hours, with Chuck's occasional input, to recount the events of her life before and after she came to the 21st century. "So there you have it," she said finally. "Now you all know the whole truth."

"I, for one, totally believe you," Stephen said, shaking his head. After the small demonstration they didn't need any more convincing that the story Sarah had just told was one hundred percent true.

"So do I," Devon added. "In fact, I think it's awesome. None of us had ever met a real witch before."

"I hope you understand why I had to lie in my job application and interview, Mary," Sarah said.

Mary got up, approached Sarah and just hugged her. "No hard feelings, kiddo. Besides, what you told me about your parents during the interview was close enough to the truth."

Ellie also hugged Sarah. "Your secret is going to be safe with us. And when you bring your family here, rest assured that we'll do everything possible to help them adjust."

Tears appeared in Sarah's eyes. "Thank you. Thank you all," she choked out.

"Don't mention it," Ellie said. Then she looked at both Chuck and Sarah. "You guys must be exhausted after all the traveling. Go get some rest. Doctor's orders."

"I'll call a cab," Sarah said, managing to stifle a yawn.

"No you won't," Chuck objected. "You'll sleep in my place."

Sarah was far more tired than she realized, for when she entered Chuck's apartment, she started to make a beeline for the guest room. Chuck, carrying their travel bags, stopped her.

"Where are you going, Sarah?"

"What kind of question is that? I'm going to bed."

"You passed the bedroom."

"Huh. I must be more tired than I thought." She looked again. "But the guest room is over there, isn't it?"

"Hello, Earth calling Sarah. Who says you'll be sleeping in the guest room? You are my girlfriend. Ergo, we'll be sharing my bed."

"Well, I guess I really am more tired than I thought."

"Yeah, big time," he agreed. "So, are you coming or what?"

"Sure, lead the way." She followed him into his room, sat down on the bed and experimentally bounced up and down a couple of times. "Hmmm, it's comfortable."

"Glad you think so, Sarah," he said. "I also have something to suggest. Before we get in bed, we could take a nice relaxing warm shower – or just soak in the bathtub. You choose."

"I'm still learning about current habits, but I guess bath salts, wine, scented candles and music are appropriate for the occasion."

"Bubble bath it is. I'll go get everything ready."

"Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Uh, yes actually, there is. You can choose the wine. I have a small selection of excellent wines in the kitchen. Glasses are in the first cupboard and the corkscrew is in the middle cutlery drawer."

"Wine, glasses, corkscrew, I got it," she dutifully repeated. Five minutes later, they were spooned together while luxuriating in the tub.

-o-

"You didn't waste any time telling the others," Sam observed.

"We believe in striking when the iron is still hot, sweetie," Sarah remarked, making a pitcher of fruit cocktail and glasses suddenly appear. She waited until everyone had taken a glass before continuing. "And I was touched by how supportive everyone was. I mean, they were a little shocked when I did the trick with the coffee, but when they heard the full story they spontaneously decided to help in every way they could."

"There is something you are not telling us," Jason declared.

"You remember your Mom's disclaimer, right? You are getting an edited version of the story."

"Uh-huh. I guess Sam and I would be scarred for life if we were to learn all the sordid details of your personal life. Even Auntie Carina can't stand it. She says that you two are a walking fairytale."

"Carina is right, isn't she, honey?" Chuck said.

"In more ways than anyone can imagine," Sarah shot back, giving her husband a look full of promises. Things would get rather… interesting in the master bedroom after the kids went to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** This chapter is somewhat longer, but only because I didn't want to break the continuity of its main subject. I hope you'll like it as much as the others.

* * *

Chuck walked into the house to find his wife and his daughter huddled together in the living room, reading Sarah's book of magic, a pot of hot chocolate and a plate of delicious homemade barmbrack (left over from Halloween) on the coffee table.

"Hello ladies," he said.

"Hi Dad," Sam smiled.

"Welcome home, Chuck," Sarah said. "How was the meeting?"

"Boring as hell, but at least we got the contract."

"Well, I never doubted we would."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Where is Jason?"

"He's taken Rex for his evening walk. Thus, Sam and I were free to study."

"This book is amazing," Samantha piped up. "It has everything, and I mean everything."

"Uh-huh. Did you do your homework?"

"I took care of it yesterday. I have the whole weekend free to study and practice magic."

"Within reason, of course," he reminded them.

"Of course," Sam replied nonchalantly.

He smiled and snagged a slice of barmbrack. "Be sure to thank your Mom for me, Sarah," he mumbled between bites. "She's an amazing cook."

"Go change," Sarah said, prodding him along with a light kick on his backside, without bothering to get up.

He was about to reply when Lucy, who until then had been curled up on the recliner, jumped into his arms and snatched the last piece of his barmbrack from his hand. "Hey!" Lucy just looked at him and purred in satisfaction as she swallowed and licked her lips. "You are a naughty kitty, aren't you, Lucy?"

"Meow," the cat replied.

Chuck laughed and put her down on the couch, where she immediately snuggled close to Sarah, her pet human. Chuck soon rejoined the ladies in the living room after changing into comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt. Jason and Rex arrived a few minutes later.

"How was your walk, boys?" Sarah asked them.

"Woof!" Rex replied as Jason let him off his leash.

"He means it was fantastic. He played with a lot of other dogs and I think he may have a crush on another retriever," Jason explained. "She's cute and she played with Rex until they were both panting. I was afraid I was going to have to carry him back here. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, things are just as you left them, bro," Sam replied. "But I learned a few cool spells."

"Good for you I guess, sis. So, what's for dinner?"

Sarah and Samantha exchanged guilty looks.

"They got so caught up in studying the black arts that they forgot to make dinner," Jason mocked them. Chuck nodded exaggeratedly.

"We won't even dignify that with a comment," Sarah said. "Right, Sam?"

"Absolutely right, Mom. However, I'm hungry, too."

"Then we'll cook. You make the salad. I'll take care of everything else." The ladies shared a conspiratorial look.

A blink of an eye later, the table was set with a delicious looking and smelling dinner.

"Voila!"

"They cheated," Chuck remarked.

"They definitely cheated," Jason agreed. And then he added: "While you're at it, refill the bowls for Rex and Lucy."

"Done," Sam replied, snapping her fingers. The animals' bowls instantly filled with yummy kibble. Naturally, they didn't stay full for long. After dinner it was time for Chuck and Sarah to continue telling their story.

-o-

After becoming a couple, Chuck and Sarah had established certain routines. They would spend their nights either in his or her apartment. Of course, they saw each other at work, a lot. Sarah was also introduced to certain Bartowski family habits, such as the rather frequent gatherings for dinner. Devon also got her a membership in the local gym which he, Ellie and Chuck frequented. She joked that she needed it, considering how good she, Mary and Ellie cooked. In reality, she had excellent metabolism, plus she had ways upon ways to burn off excess calories, some of them X-rated.

They were in her apartment, having gone there straight after work. While Sarah was changing out of her business suit into something more comfortable, Chuck went to get them each a beer from her fridge. He opened a drawer looking for a bottle opener and instead he found something resembling an old astrolabe. Curious, he picked it up and turned it over in his hands, admiring the craftsmanship. It was simply a work of art.

"Chuck, what's taking you so long?" Sarah asked.

"I'm looking for the bottle opener."

"Second drawer on the right," she informed him.

"Aha! Found it." He opened the bottles and carried them and the astrolabe to her room. They sat in the chairs by the window and clinked bottles. "I also found this," he said.

"I put it in the kitchen? My bad," Sarah commented. "Do you know what it is?"

"It looks like an astrolabe, but I'm guessing it doesn't exactly work as one."

"Basically, it's a fully functional astrolabe," she informed him. "But it's also a whole lot of other things and only a witch knows how to use it as such."

"Cool," he remarked.

"You've got your gadgets and I have mine," Sarah deadpanned.

Tell me one of the things you can do with it."

"For one, it's going to show me when I'll have accumulated the reserve necessary to bring my family back."

"How close are you, right now?"

She took it from him, ran a hand over it and waited until the workings stopped moving. The result was pretty surprising, considering she hadn't checked it for a few days. "If all goes well, tomorrow I'll have not only enough juice to go ahead with my plan, but also an extra reserve for unforeseen contingencies," she declared.

"Juice?"

"What? I read, you know." She reached for her slang book and showed it to him. "See? I'm adapting."

"You most definitely are. Do you have any more cool gadgets I should know about?"

"Well, I have my broom, my book and a mirror, which is the witch's equivalent of a tablet computer."

"I suppose it passes for witch geek chic in the 16th century."

She thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose it is. I'm a high-tech witch," she laughed.

"There is so much truth in that statement, especially now, in the 21st century."

"You're the Nerd though." She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm starving, Chuck. What are we going to do for dinner?"

"Well, you could make dinner appear, for one. But I know you have good reasons to want to do something more, um, conventional, so I was thinking about ordering in. How does the Bamboo Dragon sound?"

"Excuse me? What is this Bamboo Dragon?"

"It's one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city and your place is well within their delivery radius."

"I've never had Chinese food before."

"All the more reason to call them." He whipped out his cell phone and ordered. Sarah had no idea exactly what he'd ordered, but she trusted him.

-o-

"Take it easy," he advised her, laughter in his eyes.

"I can't help it," she mumbled around a mouthful of spicy Sichuan salad, while reaching for the fried rice and the spring rolls. "Everything is so delicious."

"Yes, and it will still be here. You don't have to choke on it. So, I suppose my idea to get Chinese tonight paid off in spades."

"You'll get your reward later," she said, giving him a look full of promises before taking a hearty swig of her Tsingtao beer. "And I appreciate you showing me how to use the chopsticks, although I definitely prefer using a fork."

"Me too," he confessed. "The proper introduction to Chinese, however, requires the use of chopsticks."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow," she said suddenly. "But I'll be back."

"I know. Before you leave, we'll throw you a party."

"Huh? What party?"

"It's just going to be me, my parents, Ellie and Awesome. We're going to wish you success and a good trip."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

-o-

"From what you told us, at that time Uncle Morgan had no idea you were a witch, right Mom?" Sam asked. "Hence his absence from the party."

"No, he didn't know, but he found out a little while later. It was completely by accident."

"How?" Jason asked.

"Don't you want to wait until I get to it?"

"Please Mom," the twins begged in unison. And, as usual, she caved. After all, recounting the incident would provide some comic relief before she got down to telling more serious parts of her and Chuck's story.

"OK. Well, I had already moved in with your father. Remember, we were still living across the street back then. Morgan had just moved out of his old apartment and was staying with us until he could find a new place. One night, I got thirsty, so I went to the kitchen to down a couple of glasses of juice. Only, when I'm sleepy I'm a little clumsy, and I knocked down a pitcher of water. Mopping it up was too much at the moment for me, so I took a shortcut."

"But you didn't reckon on Uncle Morgan," Jason deduced.

"He was also going to get something to drink and he saw me calmly helping myself to some juice while the mop was doing its thing without anyone holding it."

"I wish I were there to see his face," Sam chuckled.

"I tried to be as nonchalant about it as possible, even offering him some orange juice, but he was just rooted there."

"We'll ask him for his version of this story, but I can already imagine him running off in a panic to Dad for answers."

"You're right, of course," Chuck told Sam. "Morgan woke me up and I had to calm him down before explaining everything to him."

-o-

"Now I would like to propose a toast," Mary said, getting up and raising her glass. "To the Walker family and to meeting them soon."

"To Sarah and her family," Chuck said.

"Thank you everyone," a visibly moved Sarah said. "I can't wait to introduce you all to my family."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Devon asked.

"I'll go to my place and get everything ready."

"You can stay here, you know," Chuck reminded her.

"I know, but if I do this in my apartment, I'll be beamed to my own room." She knew Chuck would like her using a Star Trek-inspired colloquialism. "Remember when I told you how I went to sleep in my cart and woke up in my car?"

"Of course," Chuck said. "I didn't think of that."

"Smart," Stephen commented. "You'll be able to avoid any unnecessary or unwanted encounters."

"It is a good plan," Mary nodded. "But I brought you something, just in case." She handed Sarah a box.

"Thank you Mary. What is it?"

"Open it."

Sarah obliged. Inside the box she found a brunette wig and a contact lens case. "Interesting."

"The contacts are green colored and should go well with your eyes in hiding their natural color. As for the wig, I don't have to explain it."

"How did you think of this, Mom?" Ellie asked.

"There are a few things you and Chuck don't know about me. The time has come to tell you. Before your father and I started Orion Computers and Software, I was working for the government."

"Yeah, we know. That's how you two met."

"But you don't know I worked for the CIA."

"You were a spy, Mom?" Chuck was incredulous. "This is so cool!"

"Awesome," Devon added.

"I'll tell you more later, but for now let's just say that I knew what to get Sarah thanks to my experience."

Sarah hugged Mary. "Again, thank you."

"Don't mention it, dear. Besides, I'm dying to trade recipes with your Mom. Yes, Chuck, I'm a homemaker former spy. Joke away."

"Who says I'm about to crack jokes about it? I think it's just fine."

"It was certainly convenient when we worked together," Stephen remarked. "In addition to her security and liaison duties, Mary would also handle the housekeeping while I worked on various gadgets the CIA needed."

"You never made it easy for me, Stephen. I swear I'd never met a sloppier guy before."

"Hey! I was only sloppy when I had a project to work on. At other times I even cooked for you."

"True," she admitted. "Enough with the reminiscing. Chuck, will you drive Sarah home?"

"Just let me get my keys."

"On second thought, I'd like a few minutes to give Sarah some useful advice."

The drive to the Maison 23 was uneventful and quiet. Chuck escorted Sarah all the way to her door and kissed her goodnight. He was about to leave when she grabbed him, pulled him inside the apartment and took him to her bed. "I want one more before my trip," she explained. He was only too happy to oblige. Two hours later, they were both dressed again and he was ready to go home.

"Take care," he told her when he was about to leave.

"I'll be back," she assured him as they walked to the elevators.

"I know you will. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight Chuck." *kiss* She watched him leave and then went back inside her apartment, locking the door behind her. Everything she needed was ready and waiting on her nightstand. She sat on the bed, picked up the book and read the required spell. And then she curled up under the covers, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-o-

A noise coming from downstairs woke her up. Opening her eyes, she found herself in her old room. The spell had worked perfectly. Lying on the bed next to her was a bag containing extra clothing, her book of magic and her disguise. For a moment she had an internal debate about whether to put her disguise on before going to see her parents and sister or do it later, after the greetings. Discretion dictated the former as a course of action, so she got dressed, put on the wig and then the contact lenses, just like Mary Bartowski had shown her.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" Carina asked when Sarah appeared in the kitchen. "Did my parents give you a room?"

Apparently the disguise was so effective that even her own sister didn't recognize her. Sarah smiled. "Carina, it's me."

"Sarah?"

"In the flesh!"

"What are you doing here? Where have you been? How did you get here?" Carina fired off question after question at her little sister.

"I'll explain everything. Just be patient. How are things around here?"

"Well, just as we knew they would, they came looking for you. Dad told them a story about you going to London, and they believed it. After all, they didn't know we'd been forewarned. Things have quieted down since then."

"How are you holding up?"

"It was hard, not knowing where you were and how you were doing, but we never lost hope."

"Carina, who is your friend?" Jack asked, coming into the kitchen with Emma following behind.

"Someone you know very well," Sarah replied.

"Sarah?" Emma and Jack instantly recognized the voice. The next instant both her parents took her in a loving embrace.

"While I'm here my name is Katherine O'Connell," Sarah advised them.

"What happened to your hair… and your eyes? Did you…?" Emma asked her, taking in her appearance.

"No, I'm wearing a wig and contact lenses."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Like I told Carina, I'll explain everything."

"Said explanations can take place over breakfast," Emma declared. Sarah unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation of a hearty Walker breakfast.

-o-

"And so I made a new life for me in the 21st century," Sarah finished the story of the past two months.

"There is something you are not telling us," Emma said, her voice dripping with suspicion.

"You're right, mother. I left the best for last."

"If I were to guess, I'd say she met someone," Carina ventured.

"How did you know?"

"You have that look on your face, plus you just confirmed my suspicions. Who is he and how did you meet him?"

"His name is Charles Bartowski, but he prefers to be called Chuck. He is my bosses' son and in fact I got the job thanks to him. I want you all to know that I love him very much and he loves me as well. I like his family, they like me and they have all been very supportive of me, professionally and personally. They know about me, too. Once Chuck and I became a couple, I told them the truth in order to avoid potential misunderstandings. They believed me after a small demonstration of my abilities."

"You did well, but how did they take it? I'm curious," Jack said.

"Once they got over the initial surprise, they asked me a whole lot of questions. I answered them as best as I could. By the way, the disguise I'm wearing was given to me by Chuck's mother."

"She sounds like an amazing woman," Emma said.

"She is. I am positive that you'll like her a lot when you meet her."

"What do you mean when I meet her?"

"Everyone, I came here to take you to the 21st century with me."

"I can always sell the inn," Jack said, liking the idea. "In fact, someone recently approached me with a most attractive offer."

"Anyone I know?"

"No, he's new in town. His name is Roan Montgomery."

Sarah began laughing.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone who must be descended from him is a big customer of the company I work for," she replied. "Did he try to charm Mom?"

"That explains it. And yes he did. I wasn't amused, needless to say. Emma, should we accept his offer?"

"I don't know… I mean, we don't actually know anything about the 21st century. How are we going to live in it?"

"I spent two months preparing to take care of the matter," Sarah assured them. "You won't have any problems adjusting and you'll even find it to be fun. I know I did."

"Then it's settled. We are going to sell the inn to Montgomery and we'll come with you to a new life."

"I agree," Carina said. "If Sarah's new life is half as good as it sounds, it should be amazing."

"For the moment, young Katherine, I'll prepare a room for you. You can't be seen staying in Sarah's room." Emma had purposely called her by the cover name she'd adopted. Soon, Sarah's stuff was in an empty room right next to her own. If anyone asked, she'd just been sent to find work with the Walkers by a mutual acquaintance in the city. To make it more convincing, Sarah/Katherine also put on an apron and got started on helping with the day's work.

Later, the first customers of the day arrived. It was a group of locals, who were returning from cutting wood in the forest. Jack made small talk with them while Carina and 'Katherine' served them drinks. Not one of them recognized the latter as Sarah, which was highly encouraging.

Sarah was raking the fallen leaves from the yard when someone else happened to pass by. She saw him and her eyes narrowed momentarily. It was none other than Shaw.

"Good morning there," he greeted her, not so covertly eyeing her.

"Father," she said respectfully, hiding her resentment and also changing her voice.

"I've never seen you around here, lass. I suppose you're new in town."

"I am," she confirmed. "I came in this morning from the city. Jack Walker was kind enough to provide me with employment."

"Strange… I thought he was considering selling this place. I know he got offers."

"He and his wife decided to accept one, but I'll still be working for them in the new business they are considering on starting."

Shaw was contemplating making a pass on the brunette beauty, when he saw Jack Walker approaching. He bade his goodbyes and left.

"What did he want?" Jack asked his daughter.

"The creep was checking me out," Sarah replied and immediately clarified the meaning of her words. "The scoundrel was appreciating my looks."

"He didn't recognize you though."

"No, the disguise is very effective. People who've known us for years also failed to recognize me."

"I ran into Sir John on the way back here after making a deal with Montgomery."

"And?" Sarah prodded.

"I didn't tell him about your return, but he's still looking into exposing that bastard Shaw. What he's found so far is very encouraging. It seems you're not the only beautiful girl he's tried to court, plus it seems he has another business on the side, and we just have to find out what it is. At the moment Sir John is compiling evidence to present to the Bishop."

"You said you made a deal with Montgomery."

"Yes and he paid me a lot of money for the property."

Suddenly, Sarah had an idea. "I know how we can use the money where we'll be going. Follow me."

They went inside and Sarah explained her idea to her parents and sister. They all found it workable. The rest of the day was spent packing for the move. Then it was business as usual as they prepared the place for the transfer of ownership. The following day they said their goodbyes to their friends from the town. They could all discern a flicker of recognition in Sir John's and Lady Gertrude's eyes and their sly knowing smiles when 'Katherine O'Connell' was introduced to them. Afterwards, they drove to the woods, at the very spot from where Sarah had traveled through time and space for the first time. As it was getting dark, she cast the required spells.

"Tomorrow, we'll wake up in a new life," she finally said.

"You never told us what people wear in said new life," the ever fashion-conscious Carina remarked.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." She yawned. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," her parents replied and retired to the wagon, while their daughters took the smaller cart.

-o-

Sarah had prepared for this day very meticulously. Nothing had been left to chance. As the rays of the morning sun fell on her face, she woke up. One look was all it took to confirm success. She was in her room at the Maison 23, on the couch. Her sister was sleeping on a pallet nearby, which meant that Jack and Emma were in her bed. Yawning, she got up and went to make coffee and whip up something for breakfast. On second thought, Carina could and indeed should help. Sarah lightly kicked her sister's butt.

"Wakey-wakey, sis."

"What time is it?" Carina asked sleepily.

"It's eight in the morning. Get up."

"I'm up." She swiftly got on her feet and gathered up the mat, sleeping bag and pillow from the floor, neatly folding them and leaving them on the couch before going to the bathroom and changing into jeans and a shirt. "And you were right. I like this century's clothes," she commented, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "And you've got a nice place, too."

"Can you please wake up Mom and Dad? I have to get ready for work."

"Ugh, I thought your bosses would have at least given you the day off."

"Come to think of it, we never discussed it." Then her eyes went wide and made a grab for her phone. "Come on, pick up," she muttered after dialing a number and putting it on speaker.

"Hello," a man's voice answered.

"Hey Chuck, I'm back," she said cheerfully. "Before you ask, everything went OK. Do you need me to come to the office today?"

"I believe we can manage for one more day without you," he said facetiously. "You make sure your folks are comfortable here. I'll let Watkins know you are taking a personal day."

"It sounds corny, but I missed you."

"I missed you too, Sarah. Hey, I can take an extended lunch break and come see you."

"We'll be waiting," Carina replied for Sarah.

"You must be Sarah's sister, right?"

"Correct. See you soon, Chuck."

"I can't wait," he said and ended the call.

Carina picked up a framed photo of her sister with Chuck. "I already like your Chuck and I think Mom and Dad will, too."

"I'm lucky to have met him," Sarah smiled.

Not long later, Chuck arrived bearing gifts: a perfectly aged whiskey for Jack, a cookbook for Emma, a perfume for Carina and carefully selected top of the line Orion gadgets for all three.

Sarah opened the door and immediately jumped on him and kissed him. "I'm back, like I promised."

"How was your, um, trip?"

"Better than I expected," she replied. "No one recognized me, except maybe from a couple of old family friends, but they kept quiet. If I were to describe it, I'd say it was rather anticlimactic, as a whole." She then noticed the packages he was carrying. "What are those?"

"Just a few welcome-to-LA-and-the-21st-century gifts for your folks," he said.

Behind them, Jack Walker cleared his throat. Emma and Carina were standing next to him. Sarah did not let go of Chuck though. "Dad, Mom, Sis, I'd like to formally introduce my boyfriend, Chuck Bartowski. Chuck, meet my parents, Jack and Emma Walker and my sister Carina."

Chuck shook hands with Jack and exchanged hugs with the ladies. "It's nice meeting you, son. Sarah has told us a lot about you."

"Thank you, sir. Sarah has also talked about you. I hope you'll support our relationship." He nodded towards his girlfriend, who was glued to his side, not letting go of him.

"Sarah worked her magic and thanks to it we are aware of how modern relationships work, among a lot of other things," Emma butted in.

"That's a relief," Chuck winked at Sarah. "Mom and Ellie hope that you are all free tonight, as they want to invite you to dinner. They are eager to meet you all."

"We are honored to accept the invitation," Jack stated. "But first, we'll have to start looking for a place to stay. Sarah's apartment is nice, but it's kind of small."

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. For the moment, I brought you these." He handed out the gift wrapped packages.

"You didn't have to," Emma said, kissing him on the cheek when she saw her gifts.

"I wanted to."

"Come on," Sarah said. "I'm taking you all out to lunch. Plus, we have a lot of planning to do."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Now that the most pressing problems have been solved, Chuck and Sarah are free to enjoy their relationship to the full, with occasionally hilarious consequences.  
Once more, you are all amazing. I can never thank you enough for your support. I hope you'll have loads of laughs with this one.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah stood to the side and watched as their families mingled over pre-dinner cocktails. The introductions had gone smoothly and now the happy couple's parents and sisters were getting to know each other. Devon had even concocted a special cocktail for the occasion. At one point Ellie took Carina to show her around the apartment, Mary and Emma were in the kitchen while Stephen and Jack were wandering around the living room talking.

"Jack, if you and Emma need anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to tell us, OK?" Stephen said. He already liked Jack, Emma and Carina a lot, plus Sarah had been instrumental in his company getting contracts worth hundreds of millions. It was the least he could do in return.

"I appreciate the offer, but my lovely daughter has everything covered. We won't be short of money, or anything else for what the matter. You know how she got herself a new life, right?" Jack waited until Stephen nodded. "Well, apparently there is a bank account with the equivalent of our savings in my family's name."

"She's special," Stephen said admiringly. "I'm really glad she and my boy are together. Kind of reminds me of me back in the day when I first met Mary."

"Let me guess: it was love at first sight, correct?"

"You too, huh?"

"How could we not? I mean, Mary and Emma are both amazing. It's impossible not to love them from the get-go." Jack looked around to see if either his or Stephen's wife happened to be looking in their direction. "Tell me something, my friend. What do you do when you want to just get away from work and unwind?"

"Well, there is a bar I know, not far from here. I go there to have a beer, play darts or shoot pool." Then Stephen turned conspiratorial. "Care to check it out with me once this little shindig is over?"

"Now, that's a great suggestion. I'd love to. Besides, I think I'll need your advice on how to equip my new home. You see, we found a nice little house for sale, not far from here. Sarah says it's dirt cheap."

"It certainly is a buyer's market out there," Stephen agreed. "And I'll be happy to offer my expertise."

"We'll take my car. Sarah fixed me up with a Chrysler Stratus convertible and I'm dying to take it for a spin."

"Sarah!" Ellie called from the kitchen. "Can you please give me a hand with this stuff?"

"Coming!" Sarah replied. "Mmm, you lay out a good spread, Ellie."

-o-

"I know what you did, Mom," Jason declared smugly. "About tidying your folks over and about how they managed to afford to buy the Maison 23 lock, stock and barrel."

"Me too," Sam added. "We found the clipping. Very clever, having Grandpa 'find' a chest full of 16th century gold coins buried in his back yard."

"You little rascals," Sarah teased her children. "You were always snooping in the study."

"We still are," Jason admitted casually. The twins loved it when all color was suddenly drained from their parents' faces and replaced by guilty worried looks.

The grown-ups exchanged a meaningful look. In the Chuck-Sarah non-verbal communication code it meant 'Please tell me they didn't find the naughty stuff we have stashed away in there' and by naughty stuff they meant the pictures they were in the habit of exchanging while sexting, not to mention the more private photos taken during their vacations together. The meaning of another look that followed the first was 'We need to see if the hiding place has been compromised' followed by a silent agreement.

"So, Mom, from what you told us, your family adjusted to the 21st century easily," Jason said, changing the subject.

"Yes, all the effort I had put into accumulating enough magical energy in order to make the transition easier for them paid off. And now, I can tell you more fun stuff from our life."

"We are all ears," the twins said.

-o-

Sarah's morning at work had been productive, but also exhausting. She'd met with several customers and taken them to the showroom, where she'd been busy demonstrating various products. Her diligence landed the company three new contracts, which she forwarded to the sales division for implementation. And then she had to work on the advertising campaign for a new product. All in all, by the time she managed to escape to Chuck's office, she could barely stand upright.

"Everything OK, Sarah?" Chuck asked as he looked up from his computer.

"I'm beat," she complained, plopping down on his couch and kicking off her shoes. "And it's not even lunchtime yet."

"I know it's hard, especially since your division happens to be short-staffed right now. It must be a madhouse down there."

Yes, I can't wait until Copeland, Larsen and Philips get back from the seminar Watkins sent them to. In addition to those three, we sent an entire team out of state, plus Carrie just went on maternity leave. We gave her a baby shower the other day, after hours."

"So I heard. Hey, I've got an idea. Would you like to go for a walk? We could both use a break."

"Just wait until I clock out. Right now, I have to get back downstairs." She looked at her discarded high heels and instantly made a decision: she transformed them into flats. They would be easier on her aching feet.

"Okie-dokie. Will you be coming at the cafeteria for lunch?"

"No, I don't think so. I'll have to ask them to send something up to the office."

The walk was just what they both needed. After finishing with the day's tasks, Sarah took the elevator to Chuck's office.

"Ready?"

"Yes," he replied brightly. Let's go."

"Hold on." With a flick of her wrist, their business suits became casual outfits. "We'll be way more comfortable," she explained.

"I like the way you think, Sarah."

They had been walking aimlessly around for a while when they chanced upon a bookstore. A sign outside advertised the release of a new non-fiction book.

"Hey!" Sarah stopped and pointed to a photo of the author. "I know this guy… or at least an ancestor of his."

"Really?"

"Check out his name," she prompted him.

"Professor Juan Diego Arnauldo," he read. "He teaches history at Stanford. Wait, wasn't it a Cardinal Arnauldo that…?"

"Yep. Come on. I am curious to learn what happened after I left." She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the store. They made a beeline for the shelves where 'Confession is Good for the Soul – An Inquisitor's Quest for Justice' was stocked. Sarah picked up a copy and leafed through it. "It appears to be based on the Cardinal's memoirs."

"Do you want to buy it?"

"Of course," she replied and turned to go to the checkout registers.

"Excuse me," a man said from behind them.

"How can I help you?" Chuck asked politely. He recognized the other man as the professor, from the photo on the back cover of the book.

"It may seem like a strange request, but I would like to ask the young lady here a question."

"Shoot," she said.

"I know it may seem a strange question, but where are you from?"

"I was born here, but raised in San Diego."

"Oh, I meant about your family's lineage," Arnauldo clarified.

"My family's roots go back to Scotland, Ireland and a branch of the family came from Scandinavia, as far as I know," she replied. "Why are you asking?" In fact, she kind of knew why.

"I believe an ancestor of mine may have met your family."

"Small world," she remarked, with the appropriate display of surprise.

"How would you know that, Professor?" Chuck asked.

"I published this book after finding some papers an ancestor of mine had written. They described his stint as an Inquisitor, including some time he spent in England and Ireland during the reign of Mary I."

"Bloody Mary," Sarah said, referring to the queen by the moniker her opponents had bestowed on her.

"Exactly. You know your history, Ms…"

"Walker. Sarah Walker."

"So he did meet your ancestors, despite an enormous generation gap," Arnauldo said.

"It's possible," she said cautiously.

"No, it's definite. Come with me." He led Chuck and Sarah to a desk that had been set up for a book signing. "I didn't publish this, but I'm sure you'll see the similarity. Cardinal Arnauldo drew it." He handed them a high resolution scan of a charcoal drawing.

"She looks a lot like me," Sarah conceded.

"What was this drawing doing in the Cardinal's papers?" Chuck asked.

"A local priest accused this woman of witchcraft," Arnauldo replied, turning the pages of his book to the appropriate chapter. "According to this, she left for London before she could be brought in for questioning."

"And?" Sarah urged.

"It all turned out to be a lie. She had been falsely accused. The man who had renounced her, the town priest no less, was proven to be the leader of a gang of highwaymen as well as a philanderer. We would often go to the city in disguise and visit the local brothels. Once a couple of local nobles exposed him, he was tried, found guilty and summarily executed – burned at the stake."

"Served him right," she commented.

"Yes, my ancestor was in charge of the trial, at the bishop's request, who'd been particularly pissed at the news, especially since he'd sponsored the accused for the priesthood in the first place. Not long afterwards, his health forced my ancestor to resign and retire to the family estate in Spain's Basque country. There, he wrote his memoirs. One of his regrets was not having been able to meet the falsely accused woman and her family and apologize to them. They had all left the town by then."

"And eventually ended up in America," Chuck supplied.

-o-

"I was thinking that they would have beheaded Shaw, or hanged him, but I suppose he was found guilty of heresy, among other things," Sam said.

"Or consorting with the Devil," Jason added. "He could have been drawn and quartered too, had the crime been considered serious enough to warrant it."

"You two know way too much about these things," Chuck said.

"Research for a project of ours," Sam shrugged. Said project was an alternate universe fan fiction story about Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook that they were writing jointly.

"Yes. Of course, this all took place after I brought your grandparents and aunt here."

"Did you tell them?"

"I gave them the book to read. Dad was especially pleased to learn that Sir John's efforts had paid off. So, at the first opportunity, we all flew to visit Sir John and Lady Gertrude's tomb and pay our respects.

"I went with them," Chuck said. "It was all very moving."

"Wow." The kids were listening to the story with rapt fascination.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Later, I met modern day Casey. He'd just moved to the apartment complex across the street with his wife and daughter. Needless to say, Morgan was instantly smitten with her and so was she."

"Do they know about you, Mom?"

"Yes they do. They had an emergency and I helped."

"Mom, you mentioned that you were quite liberal with the use of your powers after you brought the others here. Care to share more examples?" Sam asked.

"Certainly. The most entertaining instances were when I had to use magic to ward off skanks trying to poach in my territory and make a play for my Chuck."

"Ah yes," Chuck said. "The Turner Foundation benefit comes to mind. By the way, honey, you may want to watch your mouth."

"Please," Sarah snorted. "This is nothing compared to what those two have learned from Casey, not to mention the trash talk they've picked up from you, Bryce and Morgan."

"She's right, Dad. Your gaming trash talk and Uncle John's cussing is far worse than Mom's," Sam confirmed.

-o-

"Tell me again, Chuck, why are we here?" Sarah queried. She was stunning in a dark blue evening gown, while Chuck was wearing a tux. They were in the huge ballroom of the Grand Ambassador hotel.

"Sarah, this is for a good cause. Besides, the Turners' corporation is a long time client of Dad's." He grabbed a couple of champagne flutes from the tray of a passing waiter. "Here. This will make you feel better."

"Thanks. What is this benefit for, anyway? You only said you needed me for a formal function."

"Craig and Laura Turner support many worthy causes via the foundation. Last time, for example, it was about supporting small artisanal businesses and reintroducing the general public to traditional products. We helped create a publicly accessible database for these businesses and we provide office solutions, plus support for the electronics cottage industry by offering a range of components at wholesale prices."

"What about now and where do we fit in?"

"Now it's about wildlife conservancy. We are providing remote habitat monitoring equipment and tracking devices for individual animals in the wild, and also we are going to donate equipment to a number of breeding programs for endangered species."

Sarah sipped from her champagne. "Interesting," she commented. Then she remembered something she'd read in the paper. "But what if those programs you mentioned are fronts for exotic animal trafficking?"

"You really think we wouldn't check and double check the organizations we are supporting?" Chuck smiled. "I'll only remind you that we have sources no one else has."

"Are you referring to your mother and her connections?"

"Not only her, but many more contacts we have in law enforcement agencies."

"I won't doubt you for an instant."

"Charles," a man called from behind them.

"Mr. Turner," Chuck said.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Craig?"

"Frankly, I've lost count. Is Laura all right? I haven't seen her."

"Laura is just fine. She's arranging the soiree's surprise, which she hopes will open up quite a few checkbooks," Craig Turner said and took a sip of his Manhattan.

"Craig, allow me to introduce Ms. Sarah Walker. She works with me."

"Enchanted," Craig said.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Turner."

"The pleasure is all mine." He turned to Chuck. "Have I told you why I host every event in this hotel?"

"No, but knowing you and Laura, I'd say the story is quite entertaining," Chuck replied.

"They make the best Manhattans here, since it's the only place one can find the best Maraschino cherries."

"Craig once wrote a short treatise on cocktails," Chuck informed Sarah. "And the Manhattan is his favorite."

Laura Turner chose this moment to arrive and drag her husband to the podium for the evening's highlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, "I know you all consider this to be a cause worthy of all the support it can get, but we decided to provide you with some tangible proof." The curtain was raised at the stage to reveal a glassed-in enclosure. "Meet Sasha and her cub Alisa," Laura said.

The enclosure was in reality a largish palletized trailer-borne terrarium representing the Siberian Tiger's habitat. The cub was sitting next to her mother and was regarding the humans with curiosity. Sasha, more familiar with humans, appeared rather bored.

"The environmental control system for the terrarium is of my design," Chuck whispered to Sarah. It even has a subsystem to emit typical habitat sounds for the animals to feel more comfortable."

They were standing close to the terrarium and Sasha happened to notice Sarah among the onlookers. She got up, walked majestically to the armor glass wall, stood opposite from Sarah and placed a paw against it. Sarah did the same from her side.

"She likes you," the program's lead biologist said. "She's like this only with people her instincts tell her she can trust."

"She's beautiful," Sarah said simply. "Smart too."

"A tigress knows another tigress when she sees one," Chuck whispered in her ear, causing her to smile widely. They laughed when a playful Alisa demanded her share of attention.

"Thank you for the compliment," she said when they stepped back.

"I suspect it was also due to your witchy powers, am I right?"

"Respect and love for nature and its denizens is a sine qua non for a witch," she replied.

Chuck and Sarah were having a great time at the function. Fortunately Stephen had arranged for them to have a limousine at their disposal, as they'd been enjoying a few drinks. Sarah also entertained the idea of making out (at the very least) with Chuck in said limo on the way back.

-o-

"Hello Charles," two female voices called. "Long time no see."

"Oh shit, it's the Vixens," Chuck cursed under his breath. And Sarah had gone to the ladies' room, so she wasn't there to act as a repellent for the two annoying women. He turned and pasted a polite smile on his face. "Nina, Luisa, it's a great cause you've decided to support."

"It's an attractive cause yes, but the evening just got better," Nina said, as she and Luisa cornered Chuck by a table.

Sarah was returning to her boyfriend, but he wasn't where she'd left him. And then she spotted him, noting his defensive stance and also the two women who clearly had their sights on him. When one of them groped him, she almost lost it. As it happened, the other was raising her glass for a toast… and the drink ended up spilled all over the front of her friend's dress, courtesy of Sarah's magic. "This is only the beginning, if you don't back off, skanks," Sarah muttered.

Chuck politely offered Nina a napkin from the table to clean up with, but it was clear that they weren't letting go of him, not very easily at least. Sarah was momentarily tempted to teleport the two brunettes into the tigers' terrarium and watch as they became kitty kibble. As Nina shifted her weight on her left leg, Sarah saw another opportunity. This time she caused Nina's spiked five-inch heel to break, toppling her over into Luisa, who lost her balance and fell face first onto a full tray of cream-topped and filled pastries that was on the table, with utterly predictable and hilarious results. It was very effective and rendered giving in to her more violent urges unnecessary. The two women retired to the ladies' room with as much dignity as they could muster.

Naturally, Chuck knew full well who had a hand in the two very convenient successive accidents. The very fact that there had been a second one was the clue. Looking around, he spotted Sarah, who appeared to be very satisfied with the results of her handiwork. He went to her, thanked her for rescuing him from the two vixens and asked her to dance. She eagerly accepted and they moved to the dance floor.

-o-

At this point Sarah had to stop the narrative, because her kids were laughing so hard, they looked about to topple off the couch. She glanced at Chuck, who merely shrugged. They waited until Jason and Samantha managed to breathe normally again.

"Wow, Mom, this was freaking hilarious," Jason gasped, trying not to have another bout of boisterous laughter. "Would you have done it?"

"Would I have done what?"

"Fed the two skanks – to use your words – to the tigers," he replied.

"Not really. It would have raised too many questions and that's putting it mildly. At the most I would have plucked them both, with my bare hands."

"Your mother has a crazy possessive side where I'm concerned," Chuck said. "Of course, I'm totally OK with it, because I love her just the way she is."

"Did you meet the RI guy, the one that looked like your old nemesis, again?" Jason asked.

"Some time later, we read in the news that the modern day Shaw, no doubt a direct descendant of the 16th century scumbag and just as big a scumbag himself, was arrested on a laundry list of charges ranging from several white collar crimes to the attempted murder of his wife. He's still in a federal maximum security lockup. Naturally, I was pleased with the development. He'd given me the creeps in Paris."

Chuck and Sarah never told the kids what had happened after the Turner Foundation benefit was over. It was completely inappropriate for them to hear, as she'd mounted him the instant the limo's door had closed behind them and they'd almost done the deed on the back seat. Only the short duration of the ride to his place had prevented anything more than heavy making out and groping from happening. What had happened inside Chuck's apartment was another XXX-rated story, however.

* * *

**P.S.:** For the record, the Vixens (Luisa and Nina) are the two assassins from Chuck vs The Third Dimension.


	12. Chapter 12

The inside of the Bartowski family house looked like a small hurricane had ravaged it. At least that's what Chuck, Sarah, Jason and Samantha thought when they opened the door after returning from Jason's big game. Chairs had been tipped over, knitting yarn was all over the place and the rugs were rumpled. And they knew perfectly well who the culprits were. One clue was the ripped up bag of catnip on the kitchen floor.

"How on earth did Lucy find the catnip?" Chuck asked his wife. "I thought we'd put it where she couldn't reach it."

"She had help," Sarah replied, smoothing the carpet with her foot, lest someone trip on it.

"And the perps are right here," Jason announced, after finding the two family pets hiding together under a toppled easy chair. "Come out, you two." Rex and Lucy came out, looking guilty as sin and no doubt expecting some form of punishment.

"They didn't break anything," Sam commented. "Looks like they'll get off lightly. Mom, let's tidy up the place. I'll take the upstairs rooms."

"Sure," Sarah replied. Together, the two witches straightened the place out in no time at all.

"You never told me, Mom," Sam said when the family reconvened in the living room, "how exactly did you take up knitting and why?"

"My Mom taught me. Although, I didn't knit much until you and your brother came along. It was towards the end of the seventh month of my pregnancy when the doctor recommended that I rest more, as you two were growing quite big, which was actually a good thing. So, I took up knitting again, lest the inactivity drive me bananas."

"Sarah made many fabulous things back then, including my beloved Orion scarf," Chuck added, hugging his wife.

"I'll go shower and change," Jason announced. With all the celebration after winning the game, he and his teammates had not had the time to shower in the locker rooms.

"It's about time, brother. You stink," Sam said.

"Not funny, sis. As the game's MVP, I would expect better treatment."

"Don't let it go to your head."

"Hurry up and go get your shower," Sarah said. "We have the weekend plans to discuss."

By the time Jason got back downstairs, Sarah had a light lunch ready for all of them. Even the pets' food and water bowls were full. He took his usual seat at the table and rubbed his hands in delight as his mother served the meal.

"You said we have some talking to do," he said between bites.

"Yes," Sarah agreed. "Chuck and I were talking at work today and he made me realize that I am late keeping a promise to your sister."

"And therefore we decided to spend the weekend at the cabin in Bishop. Once there, our two witches can work on Sam's own flying broom."

"Really?" Sam was quite surprised – and elated. "Thanks guys!"

"What are we going to do with Rex and Lucy? Are we going to take them with us?"

"No," Chuck replied. "I think they'd rather stay here and I have already found a bunch of willing pet-sitters. Clara and Mike talked Ellie and Morgan into letting them pet-sit for us." Mike Grimes was Morgan and Alex's son and he was eight months older than the Bartowski twins.

"So, which one is staying with Clara and which with the Grimes'?"

"The idea is for both to stay here, with the kids dropping by to check on them, feed them and take Rex on walks. If they want to take them to their places, no problem."

"Looks like you've thought of everything, Dad."

"I would certainly hope so, Sam. What about you, have you decided on a design for your broom?"

Sam smiled. "I think I'll go with something classic."

"Classic," Chuck echoed.

"I'll buy mine in Bishop."

"Don't you want to make it yourself? Your Mom did."

"Dad, we are in the 21st century. I can buy a broom with a perfectly straight stick and a nice straw brush."

"Let Sam have this one, honey," Sarah said. "Besides, the fun is in casting the spells to make it fly. The making of the broom itself is the boring part."

"Speaking of flying brooms, I found something this morning," Chuck said.

"Care to share with us?"

"Certainly. Remember the pictures I took of you the first time you showed me your broom in Bishop?"

"Yes," Sarah nodded.

"Including the ones I took for an advertisement idea I had?"

"How can I forget?"

"What idea?" Jason and Sam chorused.

"It was about our fast customer service. Chuck took a picture of me on my broom. I was wearing a business suit and I was holding a laptop in one hand and a wand in the other."

"It was before your time," Chuck added. "We weren't even engaged back then, although we'd been together for about a year."

"And?"

"Sarah eventually came up with a better idea, but I kept the pictures and even made this for her." He reached into a cigar box that was resting on a shelf and retrieved a plastic figurine. It was essentially a statuette of Sarah in the pose they had just described to the kids.

"I thought we'd lost this one," Sarah said, taking the figurine of her sitting on her broom with her long legs crossed in her hands. The detail was perfect, as it had been made and painted on Orion machines. Even the short skirt and stiletto heels had been perfectly replicated.

"Nope, just misplaced it," Chuck replied. He turned to the kids. "Sometimes, I think the only reason she came up with something else was because she didn't want this gracing the sides of our customer service vans."

"What's ours is ours," she countered.

"I agree, but as an idea it needed stating. Besides, we wouldn't put your face in the ad, not unless you wanted us to."

"That's not the point."

"I know where you're getting at, love. And I have to agree that your idea was even better."

"Good. Now, when we're done here, the kids should do their homework and we should pack for the trip to Bishop."

-o-

"Hey Casey," Chuck greeted his friend while carrying some luggage out to the car.

"Good morning Bartowski. Going somewhere for the weekend?"

"Yeah, Sarah and I decided to take the kids to the cabin in Bishop."

"Kathleen said that she heard something about my grandson volunteering to take care of your pets while you're gone."

"You heard right. Is it a problem?"

"Heck no, I like your pooch, as you perfectly well know, and so does everyone else here."

"Morning John," Sarah greeted him, also carrying stuff to load in the car. "How are you and Kath doing?"

"We couldn't be better," Casey replied. "Where are the troublemakers you call kids?"

"Right here, Uncle John," Jason replied cheerfully. "We left Rex with Mike and Lucy with Clara. We also checked to see if we forgot anything."

"Did you?" Sarah asked.

"Mom, I'm offended you're even asking," Sam said facetiously.

"Then everything is ready. Hop in, kids." They said goodbye to Casey and got in the car. "Chuck, I hope you remembered to fill up the car."

"If I forgot, you can always help," he winked at Sarah.

"I won't have to. I checked the gas and the batteries last night," Sarah said, pulling the hybrid SUV's passenger side door closed.

"You are cheating, honey."

"Well, I'd rather use my magic for fun as opposed to mundane things."

"Come to think of it we had lots of fun the last time I ran out of gas."

"Oh yes, I remember. It was on the way back from Comic Con right after our honeymoon."

"What happened?" Sam asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You don't want to hear about it. Trust me."

"I'll take your word for it, Dad."

"The first time Chuck took me to Comic Con, I had my reservations," Sarah said. "But I liked it in the end. We even met someone he knew from Stanford, which was great, because she was there with none other than Richard Castle."

"Ha-ha, I remember how she reacted when I called her K-Becks," Chuck laughed.

"Castle appeared to know about it. He also signed my copy of Blistering Heat."

"Kate told me that he'd already found out about her Nebula 9 obsession."

"Wait, Dad, is this Kate the tall leggy brunette in the pictures you have from Stanford?" Jason asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Did Mom go all Postal on her?"

"I had no reason to," Sarah said flippantly. "Chuck had never mentioned her as a former girlfriend and I knew she was with Rick Castle."

"He loves my games, too," Chuck added.

"Are we going to Comic Con this year?" Sam asked.

"We go every year, remember? After all, it's a great place to showcase our newest games," Sarah said.

"And mix business with pleasure," Chuck reminded her.

"How can I forget? You're always acting like a kid on a sugar rush every time we go there." She turned to face the kids in the back seat. "Once, he left me alone in the Orion booth to go see a special about some old sci-fi show or movie with Morgan and Bryce. We always have a busy booth at Comic Con."

"Dad, not cool," Jason said.

"Hey! Dare I remind you that you had lots and lots of fun with my Spacehunter collectibles?"

"Yeah, you're right, Dad."

When they arrived at the cabin, Sarah directed the guys to do some housekeeping chores while she took Sam to the town to find a nice broom for her to turn into a witch's flying broom. Chuck was a bit miffed, as he wanted to go buy stuff to barbecue on the classic Beast Master grill they had. In the end, he and his son resigned to wait for the ladies to return before embarking on their own shopping adventure.

-o-

"Here you go, Sarah, one medium rare burger."

"Thanks." Sarah took it and immediately placed it in a bun along with a slice of cheese, onions, a generous supply of pickles and the required condiments.

"Sam, you're next."

"Hand it over, Dad." She held out an open hot dog bun and her father deftly dropped a perfectly grilled sausage in it.

"So, did you find your perfect broom?"

"I did," Sam beamed. "Mom is going to coach me while I cast the spell to make it fly at midnight."

"Midnight?" Chuck queried.

"Yes. It does nothing towards the efficiency of the spell, but it's cool. We're also going to light a small bonfire in the pit."

"Just be careful, OK?"

"Dad, it's me and Mom we're talking about. We are always careful." Without further ado, she turned around to add stuff to her hot dog.

After the barbecue dinner, Chuck and Jason did the washing up. Sarah sat on the porch swing with Sam, the book of magic open between them and a brand new broom resting against the wall of the cabin by the swing. Chuck was forcibly reminded of an earlier time, when Sarah used to sit with her children in either the living room or the study and help them with their schoolwork. It made him love her even more, if it were at all possible. Besides, what they were doing was homework, of sorts.

Having been curtly told to leave the two witches alone, Chuck and Jason had no choice but to watch a movie and play on the awesome gaming system after piling some wood in the pit for the bonfire the ladies wanted. Outside, Sarah watched as her daughter went through the motions of casting the spell on the (not for much longer) ordinary broom. Sam could become a good actress, for she accompanied the words with the appropriate gestures, not being able to keep her hands still.

"From the ground to the sky, from sweeping dust to dancing in the clouds, rise and fly whenever I desire," Sam recited the spell's words. "By these words I make you mine, on my whim you shall fly." She then sprinkled some of the potion she'd made beforehand and repeated the words. Finally, everything was ready. Sarah's proud smile confirmed that the spell had been cast correctly and Sam was eager to take her broom for a spin.

"You have a flying broom kiddo," Sarah said.

"Yeah, but what should I do now?" She looked around for the book. It was still on the swing, so she snapped her fingers and it came to her. Sarah kept quiet, wanting to let her daughter figure everything out by herself. Sam read a little. "Huh… I have to do, um, kick-start it." So she gestured for the broom to lift… and it did.

"You are ready," Sarah smiled. She was very proud of her daughter.

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna fly now!" Sam mounted the broom and took off.

Meanwhile, Chuck and Jason had been playing online as part of the team consisting of the two of them, Morgan, Bryce and their sons. They were having a great time, ripping opposing teams to pieces and after the game was over they played between them, when…

"OH CRAAAAAAAAAP!"

A window shattered and a pilot-less broom flew by in front of them until the opposite wall stopped it. Simultaneously, a crash was heard from the porch, along with a cry of pain.

"Samantha!" Chuck and Jason heard Sarah yell. They paused the game and ran to investigate. Sam was getting up from among the wreckage of a small wooden table.

"Sam, are you OK?"

"I busted my chops, but yeah, I'm fine, Dad."

"What happened?"

"As it seems, I need some flying lessons from Mom, before I try hopping on my broom again. I was flying just fine for a while, but then I lost control, I guess."

"Let me look at you," Sarah said, turning on the outside light.

"There's no need, I'm fine. Well, I'm fine except maybe for a couple of bruises."

"Indulge me, please. Let's go to your room and see if there's any serious damage."

"But…"

"No buts, young lady. Off to your room, now, march."

Chuck and Jason looked at each other. "I'll get a pan to sweep the broken glass," Jason volunteered.

"And I'll get a new pane from the storeroom." He smiled at his son. "When Ellie and I were your age, we broke a couple while playing ball with some other kids from the town. This prompted Dad to stock up on spares."

"Okie-dokie." Jason ducked inside and quickly found a dust pan. Smiling evilly, he also picked up Sam's broom and used it to sweep the broken glass shards into the pan.

"Hey! This is my broom!" Sam exclaimed when she and her mother entered the living room.

"Yes and it's actually being useful right now, instead of being an instrument of mayhem in the hands of an apprentice witch."

"Mom, he's dirtying my broom!" Sam complained.

"Jason, give your sister her broom back and find a normal one, now."

"Yes mom," he said grudgingly and handed it over. Sam grabbed it and went outside to clean it. Chuck soon arrived and replaced the broken glass pane.

"Come on, let's go outside," Sarah suggested. First, she picked up her own broom. "Sam, I want you to pay attention to this small demonstration."

"You're going to put on an airshow just for us, Mom? Cool!" Jason said.

"I'd hardly call it an airshow, but it's always fun to use my broom." She mounted her broom and it effortlessly took her into the air. Sarah flew a figure eight pattern over the front yard, made a low pass in front of her family, returned with a slow pass and finally made a smooth landing. "See? It's not that hard. You just tried to do too much on your first try."

"Can I try again, Mom?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but be careful."

"Sarah, you can fly right alongside and take over if she overdoes it again," Chuck suggested.

"Not bad," she agreed. "Get ready, Sam."

Sam mounted her broom again. "Ready," she called.

"Liftoff in three, two one, go," Sarah said. They took off together, and Sarah coached her daughter as they flew in close formation. They did a circuit around the cabin, and eventually Sam felt comfortable enough to try some tight turns and high speed runs, with Sarah always in close attendance and ready to intervene if anything went wrong. Fortunately, the girl soon got the hang of it and there were no more incidents.

They landed together in front of the porch. Chuck and Jason applauded enthusiastically. The ladies smiled and bowed to their audience.

"You did great, sis," Jason said, bumping fists with her.

"Thanks bro."

"Jason," Sarah said, "I believe you were promised a flight on a broom. Since Sam is not yet ready to take passengers along, would you like a ride on mine?"

"Mom, you don't even have to ask."

"Hop on. It's just like riding a motorcycle."

Jason didn't have to be invited twice. He hopped on his mom's old broom and held on to her. "Ready," he called.

"Let's go."

Chuck wrapped an arm around Sam's slender shoulders and together they watched as Jason got the first broom flight of his life. And he was obviously enjoying himself a lot up there.

"He's having fun, Dad. Was it like this for you when Mom took you up for the first time?"

Chuck's smile got even wider. "It was," he told Sam. "We were on vacation here, like we told you before, and she offered me a late night ride on her broom." Naturally, he didn't tell Sam anything about what had happened next: He and Sarah had flown to a secluded spot and skinny-dipped in the river. "It was simply fantastic."

"When I went up for the first time, it felt like… it was awesome, simply awesome."

"Say, are you willing to give your old man a ride when you've practiced more, or would it be not cool?"

"I'd love to give you a ride some day, Daddy. And it is going to be completely cool."

Sarah landed her broom and Jason hopped off. Then she also dismounted and hefted the broom.

"Just like old times," Chuck said, giving her a kiss.

"I'd missed all this, Chuck. The magic, the broom rides, everything."

"So did I, but we were busy with those two, so I don't regret it."

"Yeah, me neither," Sarah agreed. They watched as Sam performed some magic tricks for her brother's amusement. "She used magic at school," Sarah informed Chuck. "She confided to me the other day and she told me all about it."

"Did you remind her again to be extra careful every time she does?"

"Of course I did. Do you want to know what it was all about? She said I could tell you."

"Please do." He was curious as to what had prompted his daughter to use her powers while at school.

"She saw a boy bullying another boy. She couldn't let it go, so she caused a number of embarrassing accidents for the bully, all in front of a large audience. She felt that humiliation was a fitting punishment. She said she'd made sure no one would get hurt."

"I'm so proud of her. I always am, but she always does something to make me even more so. Both our kids do."

"We are raising them well, Chuck."

"Are you up for some mutual… congratulating later, Mrs. Bartowski?" He gave her his famous eyebrow dance.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah replied with a salacious grin. But she was willing to give him a foretaste, so she kissed him languidly.

"Remind me to thank Dad again for soundproofing the master bedroom so well, even though I shudder every time I think about why he did it."

"Ten to one Jason will be just as grateful when he's older."

"When did the conversation jump from all the delicious things we want to do to each other tonight to becoming grandparents? Speaking for myself, I'm not really in such a hurry."

"I'm not in a hurry to be called Grams, either," she admitted.

"You are going to be a very hot grandmother when the time comes, Sarah Lisa Bartowski."

She smiled a crooked grin before calling for the kids to head up inside and get ready for bed. She and her beloved husband had plans and they wouldn't be delayed, not if she could help it.

And they all lived happily ever after.

* * *

**A/N:** That's all, folks. For now. Thank you for sticking around throughout this one and I really appreciated your support. It was nice to see you had good laughs with the story. Hopefully, it won't be long before the next one begins. It all depends on how much free time I'll be having in the near future.


End file.
